Passionfruit
by Whispers Of Tenderness
Summary: Sesshomaru devises a plan to finally get the Tetsuiga he believes is rightfully his: he's going to go through Kagome. But everything gets screwy when his heart starts to get in the way. Sess/Kag should be pretty long. Who knows?
1. Chapter 1

Passionfruit

Autumn had claimed the land. The earth was alive with color and emotion. The last of the flowers were entering the final stages of their growth and all the birds sang their songs of farewell as they prepared to depart to warmer, safer climates.

Sesshomaru's garden was bursting with the red and orange tints of the new season. His surroundings were slowly changing around him. One minute, the air was warm and sweet, holding on to the summer that has just ended; the next, it was chilly and stiff, welcoming the whispers of fall with its brisk winds and quiet mornings of frost- covered pastures.

Sesshomaru didn't even notice. More importantly, he could care less. None of these things mattered to him. And why should they, after all? He was a demon lord. He had much more important things to think about. Never mind some silly flowers that would die during the winter anyway.

He observed his garden with evident boredom. He had grown tiresome of his land. There was nothing for him to do around his palace any longer. Actually, there hadn't been for quite some time now.

Suddenly, a temptation to attack his pitiful brother struck Sesshomaru and he pondered it for a moment. It wouldn't exactly be a horrible idea and he had nothing better to do anyway. Maybe he'd finally be able to get his hands on the Tetsuiga.

Just thinking about it made the demon lord grind his teeth together in fury. What had his father been thinking, giving such an esteemed, powerful blade to a _half-breed_? If anyone was worthy of wielding his lordship's fang, it was Sesshomaru, of course.

His stupid brother having the sword wasn't even what vexed him so. It was the fact that he had not been able to get it. He wasn't able to steal the fang from Inuyasha and that both enraged and revolted him. The halfling was nothing more than a puppy with a bad temper. How was it that the mighty Sesshomaru couldn't disarm him like he has all his other adversaries? Against him, Inuyasha is a weakling, except when he was defending his bitch.

Ah, that's right. The filly in the inappropriate kimono. She appeared to have had a great deal to do with Inuyasha's consistent triumph. If she was, in fact, the reincarnation of the priestess Kikyo than she harvested much more power then she seemed to realize. She was, in a sense, even stronger than the hanyou.

Thinking of the miko reminded Sesshomaru of one other thing. Slowly, he raised his left hand and extended his fingers. She was the reason he had that arm again.

How ironic. The inferior half-breed took his arm from away and his careless bitch gave it back.

Her expression had been most amusing. As his arm has begun to come back, he looked at her, too shocked to think about hiding it. She looked absolutely horrified. Sesshomaru had left soon after, not wanting to wait and see if she got a second chance to do what she had originally intended which was probably to purify him to some extent.

Though he had chosen not to admit it to anyone in particular, having his arm back had certainly been a relief. Not to say that he wasn't able to operate as efficiently without it. He'd merely lived some 2,300 years with both appendages and it was rather agreeable to be able to swing back into his regular routine.

She was definitely unique, the miko.

Suddenly, a new, much more unusual urge caught the demon lord unawares. It was so strange, so unlike him, that he thought he might actually want to do it.

Though he despised his idiot brother and wished for him to rot in hell, he felt nothing towards the girl. She could be rather annoying at times, but he felt no malice when he was near her. At the same time, he didn't particularly like her. He just happened to find her especially…

Interesting.

Sesshomaru had thought that maybe he should attempt to get close to the girl. Then, he could easily learn the extent of her powers and figure out how to avoid them. And, if he was able to earn her trust, he may be able to obtain the Tetsuiga.

Why hadn't he thought of this sooner? That girl was the perfect loop-hole, an outlet to everything in Inuyasha's camp. After all, she was only human. Humans are so predictable and never seem to recognize deception until it's much too late. They give away their trust to anyone who acts like they actually want it. Sesshomaru had sensed on more than one occasion that her emotions were very unstable. From his experience, that seemed to be very common in the human females. He was sure he could win her over with no trouble.

Sesshomaru almost smiled. Finally, he was discovering how to get to his brother.

As it would appear, Inuyasha's greatest strength was also his greatest weakness.

Unwilling to dawdle any longer for the chance to put the egotistical half-breed to shame, Sesshomaru set off in the direction of his camp, his plan of action already developing in his mind.

His first step in getting to the miko was to show her a side of him that she, or no one else for that matter, had ever seen before.

He was going to thank her.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Is there not _one_ honest bone in your body?" Inuyasha hollered at Miroku. The monk remained calm, merely crossed his arms over his chest and clicked his tongue in disapproval.

"Inuyasha, I am a servant of the gods. I am nothing _but_ honest. Why ask me such a foolish question?"

The hanyou roared with laughter. "Bah! You're no man of god! You're nothing but a perverted little man in robes with a hellhole for a hand!"

Miroku smiled sadly, "I am sorry you feel that way." Then, when Sango passed by, his attention shifted abruptly.

"Hey!" Inuyasha exclaimed, "I'm still yelling at you! Get you eyes away from that wench and back on me"

"But you're not nearly as fun to look at." Miroku mumbled just as Sango whipped around and glared at Inuyasha, her eyes ablaze.

"_What did you just call me?!_" she hissed. Inuyasha cowered from the anger in her murderous expression. She took a step towards him and Miroku moved quickly out of the way.

"May the gods be with you." He muttered.

"Oh, he'll need more than the gods _this_ time!" Sango ground out through clenched teeth. She cracked her knuckles as she advanced towards Inuyasha. He gulped, this would surely be unpleasant.

"Wait! WAIT!" Inuyasha yelled, a sudden urgency overtaking the voice that had been pleading for mercy only a second before. Sango dropped her fist, sensing that something serious had changed. Inuyasha stood quickly and Sango fell to the ground seeing as she had been straddling him. Not a moment later, a figure dropped from the trees and glided towards them.

"Hello brother." Sesshomaru said. Inuyasha tensed, reaching for the Tetsuiga. Something wasn't right about Sesshomaru's easy going manner. He didn't like it.

"What are you doing here Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha said warily. The demon lord cast one glance at him with a what's-your-problem expression.

"Relax half-breed. This Sesshomaru comes not for you."

For a moment, the hanyou was shocked into silence. He hadn't come to steal the Tetsuiga? Or to start a fight? Well then what _was_ he there for? For some reason, Inuyasha grew angry. Like he had said before, he had a bad feeling about all of this. Sango and Miroku just looked on, ready to fight if necessary.

Sesshomaru noticed and paid no mind to them. Instead, he addressed his brother once again. "It is the miko I seek. Where is she?" He was pleased to see the half-breed's face contort in fury.

"None of your business! What does that matter to you? You're not gonna see her when she comes back anyway!" he said, his lip curling in a snarl. Sesshomaru sighed and looked as though he would like to roll his eyes. There his rash brother went again, getting all angry over the bitch. Nevertheless, he chose to ignore Inuyasha's comment.

"But she will be returning, will she not?"

Inuyasha's anger mounted. "Maybe, maybe not. Like I said, you're not. Gonna. See her!"

"Fine. This Sesshomaru shall wait." And with an air of finality, he gracefully sank to a sitting position on the ground. Sango and Miroku looked at him, amazed that he cared so much to see Lady Kagome that he was going to wait for her to return from her walk. Inuyasha stormed off after realizing that there was absolutely nothing he could do to stop his brother.

Sesshomaru was delighted. Everything was going as planned. Already, he had managed to irk his brother and the miko wasn't even there yet. The demon lord could feel the eyes of the monk and the wench on him, along with their confused scents.

Sango and Miroku couldn't stop staring. He turned his head and looked at them for a long moment and then, much, _much_ to there surprise, he smirked at them before turning away. Sango blushed furiously and Miroku shuffled his feet. The demon lord had managed to unnerve them both with nothing more than a suggestive glance.

Inuyasha was lounging in a branch just above Sesshomaru's head. He was trying to pretend that he wasn't bothered by his brother's presence but it wasn't something he could hide from a full dog demon. Sesshomaru could feel the agitation coming off the half-breed in waves.

Sesshomaru's eyes opened a split second before Inuyasha sat up.

"She comes," was all he said. The hanyou glared at his brother that had once again outdone him, and then he jumped away into the trees. Sesshomaru waited patiently for him to return with the girl.

You could hear them before you saw them.

"INUYASHA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!?! GET YOUR HANDS _OFF_ ME!!" Kagome screamed.

"WOULD YOU STOP CATERWALTING IN MY EAR? I'M TRYING TO PROTECT YOU!" Inuyasha grunted with difficulty. They came into view. Inuyasha was holding Kagome by her arms and she was thrashing around, yelling at him. Her hair was strewn across her face and she was breathing hard.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?!? LET ME GO!!"

"JUST SHUT UP AND STOP FIGHTING ME WENCH!"

"WENCH!?!" she screamed, "What did I tell you about calling me that? It's not my name and you--," suddenly she stopped as she spotted Sesshomaru standing there, watching her. She gasped with surprise and Inuyasha glared at his brother as he had before.

"You're still here?" Kagome, for the moment was stunned and unmoving in Inuyasha's iron grasp. Why was he looking at her like that? What was going on? Kagome was confused but she was also curious. Something big was happening but she seemed to be missing it.

Sesshomaru ignored his brother and directed all his attention to the raven-haired girl. "Greetings miko." He said simply. Kagome started, that was the first time he'd ever officially acknowledged her. Normally, if he was speaking to her, it was to tell her to die or ask her just what the hell she was. This was definitely a surprise for her.

Sesshomaru took a step towards her and Inuyasha backed up with her still in his grasp. The demon lord stopped, his calm, almost light hearted aura fading.

"Release her."

"No!" Inuyasha was suddenly vicious. "She's mine! You can't have her! She's MINE!!" Kagome huffed irritably but the two stubborn males ignored her.

"You will refrain from yelling at this Sesshomaru, half-breed." The demon lord's tone was almost more vicious with its calmness than his brother's loud ferocity.

"I'll do whatever I want to _this_ Sesshomaru," Inuyasha sneered. Kagome cleared her throat loudly and yanked on Inuyasha's long white hair.

"Um_excuse me_! But can you LET ME GO NOW!?!?!" she hollered. Sesshomaru wanted desperately to smile, much to his surprise. There was something about that girl that seemed to catch him off guard every time he was near her. Today was no exception. Never before had such an unusual impulse come to him. It was as if she brought out the weakness in him. And in an odd, twisted way, he was enjoying it.

"No I will _not_!!! So just sit tight and _shut up_!" Inuyasha yelled back. Kagome began struggling vehemently and Inuyasha began grunting both with anger and with the effort of holding her still.

"Feh, bitch, give it up!! Stop moving around so much!" he exclaimed between grunts. Kagome had had more than enough. She glared up at him.

"Bitch huh? _SIT_!!"

Inuyasha tumbled face-first to the ground and let Kagome go. She stepped forward and lifted her chin to Sesshomaru. He found this very entertaining. The miko had a certain manner about her that enticed the demon lord. Like before, he found himself wanting to smile. Or worse yet, laugh out loud, something he hadn't done in thousands of years.

"Now," she said with her arms folded across her chest, "What do you want from me?"

Sesshomaru opened his mouth to speak, but a very aggravated half-demon stood from the dust created by his hard fall, and prepared to let loose on both of them. His chest puffed out with the breath he would need to let them have it. Unfortunately, Sesshomaru wasn't willing to sit and listen to his brother's stupidity. He addressed the girl for the last time that day.

"The dolt makes it impossible to converse. We shall talk later." And he disappeared in the same direction he came from minutes before. Kagome let out a long breath. Sesshomaru had been just as scary and menacing as ever just then. Her bravery had been a fluke, that entire time she had been quaking on the inside. Something about his quiet manner did something to her every time she saw him. Her insides turned to jelly and her heart wouldn't stop beating mega fast.

Regardless of all that, she did want to know why he had been so interested to speak wit her. What did he have to say that was so important? Or did he have something to say at all? Maybe he was just trying to find a new way to kill her.

She sighed with relief. Though he was an idiot, it was a good thing Inuyasha had been there. Kagome thought it was better if she wasn't caught alone with the mighty Lord Sesshomaru.

End chapter 2

Yay!! I've finally updated!! Thank god because everyone who sends reviews seems to really like this one!! I'm sorry it took me so long but I hope u liked this chapter. More soon!


	3. Chapter 3

That stupid, self-centered, ignorant, uptight idiot!

Kagome screamed with frustration because what she was feeling was so intense that was the only way she could let out it out. What the hell was his problem!? Why does he always have to be so difficult! GODS! She'd wanted to squeeze his harmoniously fat head until it popped and she was almost tempted to purify him. Luck for him, she let him by with nothing more than eleven sits in a row before she made her hasty retreat.

Which was how she ended up here. Pacing and cursing that stupid dolt for all that he was.

But now that she could see straight, she couldn't help but wonder… where exactly _was_ she?

Kagome stopped her furious stomping and glanced around. She'd been so upset by Inuyasha that she'd marched off in some random direction and now, it seemed as though she was horribly lost.

Groaning, Kagome threw herself to the ground; her back slumped against one of the many trees surrounding her. The afternoon sun sent a sliver of a shadow in front of the girl and she couldn't help but think that that was what she must be to Inuyasha: dark, faceless, therefore, unimportant.

A crisp wind flitted through the semi-bare branches, stirring both the leaves on the ground and the ones still in the trees hanging on for dear life. Kagome could hear the promise of autumn as that same breeze lightly ruffled her night-black hair. The downhearted girl sighed and stood. At just that thought, all the fight had been zapped from her. All she was thinking then was that she shouldn't be out by herself with no arrows or anything.

Unfortunately, just as she was walking away, a figure dropped, virtually soundless, from one of the trees at her back. The only reason Kagome knew he was there was because she could sense his power, she whipped around with a startled gasp that she couldn't even dream to suppress.

"Sesshomaru!" she exclaimed in total shock. This was the second time he'd shown up to speak with her except this time; no one was there to protect her. Kagome realized that if he wanted to, he could easily kill her right then.

"Greetings miko," He said calmly. Then he began walking towards her, his utterly graceful gait disturbing to the girl. Totally on impulse, Kagome put her hands out in front of her as some sort of feeble protection.

"Stay away from me." Her voice shook with the fear that was making her breath catch in her throat and her heart pick up speed. Both were things the dog demon detected easily. He halted in his lazy pursuit.

"Relax girl. This Sesshomaru is not here to harm you. As I graciously informed the ill-mannered half-breed, I wish only to converse with you." To be honest, Sesshomaru was rather surprised by her reaction. Just a few days before, she seemed just fine with his presence. Now, she wanted absolutely nothing to do with him; she seemed convinced that he wanted to kill her. Maybe she was more dependent on the half-breed than she was willing to admit. Which only mad what Sesshomaru was planning that much easier.

Regardless of what he said, Kagome continued to back away for every step the extremely menacing demon lord took towards her. If anything, she only made her situation that much worse; eventually, her back was against a tree and he was still moving in her direction.

Suddenly, what he said clicked in her head. Inuyasha! He always managed to find her when she was in trouble, plus he's a dog, he could hear her calling from far away.

Sesshomaru knew what she was planning as she planned it. He could both feel and see the difference in her attitude. Almost at once, his approached changed from what he thought to be nonthreatening to slightly intimidating.

"I know what you're thinking. Do not call the half-breed." He said, his voice low. Kagome, completely aware that he probably wasn't bluffing when he said he knew what she was thinking, chose to ignore him.

"INUYA—" Sesshomaru darted forward and covered her mouth with her hand, muffling anything she had hoped to say. Her eyes opened wide with shock and her arms thrust forward in an effort to push him away. First, he effortlessly moved out of the way of her flailing palms, then, he trapped both her wrists in his other hand and pulled them above her hand.

"Mmmf!" Kagome was totally immobilized and, what's worse, at the demon lord's mercy. She knew he had very little of that and probably wouldn't spare any of it on her seeing as she disobeyed his command.

"This Sesshomaru knows not the extent of your powers of purification, therefore, this," his eyes moved up to her wrists, "is only a precaution. This is the only way I can be sure that neither of us will be hurt."

Only then did Kagome understand. Sesshomaru didn't know if she could purify him so he wasn't taking any chances. She figured that the only way she could be hurt was if she did manage to purify him to some extent and he came after her.

Meanwhile, as Sesshomaru was watching the emotions flit across the girl's face, his youkai was eagerly reacting to being in her presence. He found that strange that his innerbeast seemed to be enjoying being so close to her. When he came to her camp before, he'd really only wanted to talk to her. His entire plan rested him being able to have that one short conversation. His stupid brother had prevented any chance of that, but now that he'd caught her by herself, he'd finally put his plan in action.

Speaking of whelp, he'd been watching the miko when she first arrived. She'd seemed very upset and he'd heard her cursing the half-breed. He always managed to get under her skin and he really seemed to find pleasure in it. Why, Sesshomaru couldn't figure out. Maybe his idiot brother wished to mate with the miko. If that was it, he was going about it the wrong way.

His thoughts drifted back to the girl. To his surprise, he thought of her lips, still beneath his palm. He noticed that they were very soft and they reminded him of a pillow of feathers.

The emotionless demon lord mentally reared from the thought. When was the last time he'd ever thought of anything like that? Years of hard training had drawn him from thinking that way. Why was he suddenly back to musing things like that? And besides, right then was hardly the time. And this was hardly the girl. He had a mission and it held no space for such foolishness.

"Hm. My brother should not let his bitch wonder around by herself." He thought aloud. Kagome immediately reacted to his terminology, forgetting the situation she was in.

"Miff!?" she exclaimed. Kagome couldn't stand it when Inuyasha called her anything other than her name so her reaction had become almost habitual.

Sesshomaru's eyes returned to hers and she coward back into the tree. That was when he remembered what he's come for in the first place.

"As I had been saying before you came up with the ingenious decision to call for the half-breed, I haven't come to cause you any harm. I wanted to speak with you. Kagome blinked. When had Sesshomaru ever come to do anything other than kill? And he honestly expected her to believe that he didn't want to hurt her in anyway?

"If I remove my hand," the demon lord said slowly, "can I trust you not to call my brother?"

Kagome decided to humor him. If he really had something to say to her, she would like to hear it. It's not often that one of the most powerful demons in the world wants to talk rather to kill. She nodded slowly and he dropped his hand to his side. The other he continued to use to hold her wrists.

"What did you want to talk about?" she asked cautiously. She was still acutely aware of the fact that Sesshomaru could kill her with ease.

"Actually," he responded in his classic monotone, "I merely wish to thank you."

Kagome's eyes opened wide and she reared back in surprise. Sesshomaru? Thanking_ her_? What for?

"You are the reason I have the use of both my arms again."

Oh. _That._

She hadn't done it on purpose; she'd actually been trying to purify him. Honestly, she still couldn't figure out how she had managed to do it. She'd just laid her hands on that side of him (that also wasn't on purpose; more like impulse), intending to give him a shock he wouldn't forget and… whamo! He had another arm again. Inuyasha hadn't let her hear the end of it for weeks.

"Yeah, well, that was an accident." Kagome muttered, her eyes downcast.

Sesshomaru shocked both her and himself by smiling. And not one of his smirk-like smiles either, a real,_ genuine,_ smile. Kagome looked back up into his eyes, too astonished to say one word. At that exact moment the sun, which had been mulling around behind the trees, emerged and cast a golden glow on Sesshomaru's face. Kagome was struck by how incredibly… beautiful he looked just then. Beautiful and even more surreal. Like that one thing that you saw everyday that you wanted and you longed with all your heart for, but no matter how hard you wished for it, you knew deep down that you would never get it.

"Regardless of how it came about," he said, completely oblivious to the raven-haired girl's thought this time (probably because he was too wrapped up in his own what in all hell's was going on? Why was he smiling? What spell had this girl cast on him that he would do something as meaningless as express emotion through facial expressions? Especially one so common: a_ smile_?), "it still happened. I realize that I've not gotten the opportunity to properly thank you"

Impulsively, Kagome smiled back at him. 'Geez,' she thought, 'for a guy who never smiles, he sure has a nice one he's been hiding all this time.'

"You're… you're welcome," she said. They stared at each other, Kagome marveling at how much warmth filled his eyes when he smiled, Sesshomaru pondering why he was smiling and wondering why it wasn't nearly as bad as he thought it would be.

Suddenly, Kagome was struck with the thought, 'Kiss me,' and she almost gasped out loud, she was so startled by even the idea of Sesshomaru kissing her. Where had _that _come from? Her heart begun to beat fast again but this time, it was for a very different, very strange. Butterflies began to flutter around in her stomach and her palms began to sweat. What the heck was going on here? Why did she feel this way?

"Sesshomaru…" Kagome began. The demon lord's head inclined towards the girl in a questioning manner.

"Yes miko?"

Kagome held her breath, "I—"

"What the _hell_ is going on here!?" Inuyasha's voice filled the comforting silence of the forest. Sesshomaru's smile was snatched away and his eyes narrowed to slits.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome was excited to see him. Then she remembered what had been happening and wished he hadn't come.

"Half-breed." It was all Sesshomaru had to say. His dislike for his brother was evident in the way he bit off the words.

"Sesshomaru, what do you think you're doing?" Inuyasha withdrew the Tetsuiga and held it in front of him, ready to strike. Sesshomaru, for the most part, completely blew off the threat; instead, he leaned close to the miko so his mouth was at her ear. Inuyasha, being the hot head that he is, got irritated because he couldn't see what his brother was doing to the girl.

"Sesshomaru," he warned. The demon lord ignored him again, only leaned closer to Kagome.

"We shall meet again." He whispered, and then, he was gone. Kagome's arms fell to her sides but she could still feel his hand around her wrists. She put her hand over her heart, looking in the direction Sesshomaru disappeared. How strange. How completely bizarre what she was feeling. It was almost like she… she had a_ crush_ on him or something. But of course, that would never be it. That would have to be the stupidest thing she would ever do.

But then again, she was a pretty stupid girl.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha came towards her and she absently looked in his direction. "Are you all right?"

Kagome dropped her hand and turned completely toward him. "Yeah. I'm… fine." She said.

"Well come on then. Sango, Miroku, and Shippo've been moaning and whining about you going off on you own." And he turned and started to walk away. Kagome followed but she couldn't stop herself from casting one last glance over her shoulder before running to catch up.

Yay!! I finally updated!! Sorry it took soooo long but please review.

I hope you like it!!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

It had worked. It had actually worked and he knew it for sure. Everything he'd wanted to happen happened, and his theory about her unstable emotions had been proven. Everything in phase one was complete. She knew that he could easily get to her, she believed that he had a "nice" side, she probably even thought him to be trustworthy. He had nothing to further to worry about. Now, it was time to decide what to do next.

So why, Sesshomaru pondered, were his thoughts lingering on what happened earlier? The demon lord was usually very time efficient; he didn't spare any moment for thinking back on anything, he just forged ahead onto the next thing on his list. That was the problem, there wasn't a next thing. Every time he tried to formulate some sort of plan, his thoughts drifted back to that girl. It was a dilemma he found both intriguing and infuriating. He'd never had this sort of conflict with himself. Every time he commanded himself to think, he found himself replaying what happened in the forest in his mind.

Why? Why wouldn't he let himself move on? Sesshomaru was…

…pacing. What should she do? What did he mean when he said they'd meet again? And what the hell was she going to say to him? Kagome silently thanked Inuyasha once again for interrupting them when he did. At that time she thought it was the worst thing he could've done but the more she thought about it, the more she realized how much damaged could've been done.

Not to mention the position Inuyasha'd seen them in. Kagome had to admit, it was rather awkward, even for her. He had been looking at her funny all week. Almost as if he didn't believe her or something.

Well, once again, with good reason. Why in the world would the mighty Lord Sesshomaru want to thank her? Why would he want to thank _anyone_? Something just didn't seem right. The last time she'd checked, he'd been intent on killing her.

"Lady Kagome, you are wearing holes into the earth." Miroku spoke worriedly from his spot on the ground. "Perhaps you should come sit beside me and discuss what ails you."

Kagome paused and smiled at him wryly. "No thanks Miroku. I don't feel like being molested today."

The priest, shocked at such an absurd accusation, began to contradict her but she stopped him at the get go, saying she had to go take care of some important business so she'd be gone for a while, and made a hasty retreat. The last thing she needed was a distraction like a conversation with Miroku. Kagome desperately needed this time to think about what happened between her and the demons lord that just about everyone she was traveling with hated.

The second she found a nice, quiet place, she began pacing and thinking furiously all over again. Maybe he wanted something from her. Maybe he was trying to lure her into a trap. Maybe he still wanted her dead. Or maybe, just maybe, he had actually…

… Changed? What made this time any different than all the others. He'd seen her plenty of other times, even spoken to her. Those times never lingered in his thoughts like this was. As a matter of fact, the only time he'd ever thought about her when he wasn't actually there looking at her was when he marveled about how much she despised her for marring his perfect skin or thinking about his arm. Whatever it was that was so different Sesshomaru just couldn't seem to put his finger on.

"That's enough!" he spoke firmly to himself. What happened before no longer mattered. It was very upsetting that he actually had to get to the point that he had to talk to himself but whatever he had to do would be done. He'd had enough of all this foolishness. The more time he spent thinking about it, the less he'd have to think about anything else. Plus, Sesshomaru could feel Jaken's curiosity at hearing him walk back and forth across his chambers, muttering to himself. He wouldn't dare say anything, the insolent worm, but still. Sesshomaru couldn't have anyone doubting him, especially not his servant. With new determination, he forced himself to sit still and think.

All right. Phase one was complete. Now it was time to create phase two. Unfortunately for him, Sesshomaru hadn't thought much further than the initial, brilliant idea.

The demon lord delicately placed his index claw on the corner of his eyebrow. What should he do now? Where did he go…

…from here? He said he was going to come back. If he was serious, should she let him come into her space? Should she let herself become vulnerable to him? Kagome knew she had the potential to be very powerful, but Sesshomaru also knew that and would take all necessary precautions to avoid any altercations. She wouldn't have a chance against him.

But she hadn't had a chance before and he hadn't done anything to her. Put her in a very…compromising position maybe, but he didn't hurt her. Surprisingly, he'd actually been very polite.

At just the thought, kagome smiled softly to herself. Lord Sesshomaru really was an extraordinary creature. Not to mention extremely easy on the eyes. And he'd come to see _her_. The clumsy, otherworldly (literally), reincarnation of a priestess. Not just to see her either, oh no, he's come and thanked her. Who would've thought he had a nice bone in his body?

Her mother always taught her not to judge a book by its cover, no matter how out of character yet menacing said cover appeared to be. 'Maybe,' Kagome thought, 'I'll give him a chance.'

She had to face the facts; kagome really did want to hear whatever he had to say. She'd never spoken to a pure demon before; what sort of things did they think about? Did they, by chance, have anything in common? Kagome laughed at the thought. She highly doubted that she would have anything in common with a demon in Feudal Japan. Still, it would be quite an…

…experience. Trying to force himself to pretend to enjoy that wretched female's company may be hard but he would have to handle it. What an odd girl she was. Though he would enjoy talking to her about the land he comes from.

Maybe he could find a way to rule there too.

This miko had become more and more valuable the more he thought about her.

All he had to do now was meet up with her and "talk" about nonsense to get her to trust him. That was no problem. Catching up with her would be easy. Complications only came in when that idiot showed up…

…Inuyasha. That was Kagome's biggest problem. That and finding ways to get to Sesshomaru in the first place. That was of course, assuming he actually wanted to talk to her.

Kagome shrugged indifferently. It wouldn't matter. If he wanted to talk, she'd talk but if he didn't whatever. Why did it seem to mean so much to her anyway? It wasn't a huge deal.

Though she sorta kinda, not really but maybe just a little bit, hoped…

…she'd want to talk to him.

* * *

Inuyasha shuddered. His head whipped from side to side, eyes narrowed, shoulders tense. "I've got the oddest feeling that my brother is nearby." He muttered, still trying to find the source of his problem. Kagome's heart did a little flip-flop and went on to beat double time. Sesshomaru? Here? She couldn't believe it. It'd been nearly a week since she last saw him and she was beginning to wonder if he was coming at all. Why would he, after all? He could've said he was coming back just to say something. Just so there wasn't an empty silence. Or he could've been trying to be nice. To continue on his goodness streak. Or he could've even said it just to make Inuyasha mad.

But now she couldn't deny that he had a purpose with her. If Inuyasha sensed his presence, than he had to be there. Inuyasha may be an idiot, but he was never wrong when it came to the brother he despised. He refused to allow himself to be wrong, for it could cost him his pride, or his life.

Kagome had been in a dazed state, thinking about Sesshomaru and the fact that he was back, possibly for her. When Inuyasha turned to her, she only saw his face in a blur because her eyes were zoned out, but it immediately made her come back. Because there was a strangely protective look in his eye, and she didn't like it one bit.

When she blinked and was about to say something to him along the lines of 'what the hell is wrong with you,' he spoke. "Don't be afraid Kagome," he said fiercely, "he won't come near you again, I swear it!"

The raven-haired girl was momentarily stunned, "Wha… what do you mean?"

His face changed to concerned, "your heart is beating so fast. Surely, you're afraid of my brother because of what happened before."

Kagome could feel a blush creep onto her cheeks and for a minute, she just stood there gaping at him. Inuyasha had sensed her quickening heart rate and mistaken it for fear. Thank the gods he didn't realize that it wasn't fear at all but… elation that made her heart beat so fast. Yes, it was a good thing he didn't realize it, but she had to make sure it stayed that way.

"I'm not scared you idiot!" she hollered, "and even if I was, what good would _you_ be?! You didn't protect me from him before so what makes you think you can now? I'm fine on my own!" and with that, she huffed and stormed away.

"Wait!" Inuyasha called, following behind her, "Don't go over there! It isn't safe—"

"SIT BOY!!" she commanded, pausing to hear the telltale crash behind her along with an angry roar. "And don't even _think _of following me!"

As she disappeared into the trees Inuyasha sprung up, furious. He _hated_ to be sat. "Fine! Get killed by my stupid brother and see if I care!" he yelled into the forest in the young girl's wake. But as he was walking in the _opposite_ direction, he could swear he heard someone laughing.

* * *

Kagome knew that the only way she'd be able to talk to Sesshomaru was if she was alone. That's why, when Inuyasha'd given her such a perfect opening, she'd taken it making sure he was irritated enough not to bother with following her. For the moment, she was just glad that Inuyasha had completely misinterpreted her. For once, she was ecstatic that he was so dumb. Though she knew it wouldn't last for very long. Even though he was a complete and total idiot, he _was_ part dog. Dogs were supposedly smart. Soon, he'd connect one thing to another and it made Kagome shudder to think what kind of hell he'd be raising when he finally figured it out.

"That was quite an exit back there miko." A deep voice said from behind her. Kagome gasped and whipped around, coming face to face with the source of her anxiety.

And boy did he look amused.

"What's the matter miko?" Sesshomaru asked, the picture of pure innocence, "Surprised to see me?"

Kagome kept a weary distance between them. Just for reassurance, she stepped back a little more. His eyebrows rose slightly and she felt a blush for the second time that day.

"Actually," she began shakily, "yes."

Sesshomaru did not like the tremor in her voice. This would never work if she was constantly afraid of him. He sought through what he knew of making people feel at ease and settled for the simplest thing. The demon lord crossed his arms over his chest and leaned his shoulder against the nearest tree. He watched victoriously as her tension oozed away slightly. Only when she crossed her own arms did he speak.

"Why? This Sesshomaru told you he would be coming back, did he not?"

The suspicion in her eyes returned. Sesshomaru made a mental note not to refer to himself in that way. If it bothered her of made her unsure of him in any way, he could no longer do it.

"Well, yeah but I didn't think you actually would." She replied looking away and into the trees where the bright afternoon sun was peeking through the branches and making odd shapes on the ground.

Sesshomaru studied her. Studied the way she was standing, the tone of her voice, anything that could tip him off to the way she was feeling. "Why wouldn't I? I said that I would and I never go back on my word." Now, he was truly confused. Why did she think he wouldn't come? Sesshomaru always did whatever he said he was going to and he distinctly remembered saying he would come back to talk to her again. Maybe they'd just had a communication impasse or something.

But it only took him a moment to realize that that wasn't at all the case. Kagome had heard him good and well that day, and he was willing to bet that she hadn't forgotten it for one minute. The problem her was that she was skeptical. The girl kicked a stone lightly and kept her eyes on the ground.

"I don't know," she shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. She ran an index finger along the ridges in the bark of a tree, "I guess I just… thought… there wasn't really anything important for you to come back to."

Sesshomaru had to restrain his eyebrows from going up. It was a reflex action that he had wanted to do because of all the surprise he felt just then. In truth, this had nothing to do with him in the first place. The demon lord could sense that this was a serious issue for her; she didn't believe in her own self- worth. If only this girl knew the powers she wielded. Being the reincarnation of that priestess, Kikyo, she could easily be one of the strongest organisms in the entirety of the land. But Sesshomaru also realized that this was his real moment to earn her trust. This was the one area that she hadn't had anyone to really encourage her in; the one part of her that she needed that one person to step into and fill with good words.

He raised himself to his full height, but left his arms crossed. The miko glanced at him from under her lashes, a faint red tinge on her cheeks. "Miko, this Sesshomaru would never waste his time on matters that weren't of the utmost importance." He made himself sound as high and mighty as it was possible.

Kagome cracked a smile, and then had to try and hold it back. She couldn't help it! Just in that moment, he'd sounded so… regal and pompous. Only Sesshomaru could pull off doing something like that and not only succeed in making her laugh, but also making her feel better. He'd said she was a matter of the utmost importance. That was a million times more than she could say about Inuyasha. _He'd_ called her things lower than worm's dung on much more than one occasion.

"Is something funny girl?" Sesshomaru growled playfully. Kagome fully turned to him, trying her hardest to wipe the smile off her face.

"Of course not Sesshomaru." She replied, fighting hard against a bubble of laughter.

One look at her face told Sesshomaru that he was getting closer to his goal. He smiled, not only for himself, but for the girl as well. Smiling was one of those things he'd abandoned hundreds of years ago, but now, in this situation, it seemed like the perfect thing to do. The only thing that would really fit.

There it was again; that famous Sesshomaru grin. He never fully smiled, but it didn't matter. It was one of those phenomena that kagome never thought she'd live long enough to see. And yet, here it was, for the second time in only a week. Boy was she a lucky girl.

_His_ smile permitted _her_ smile to come bursting out. Sesshomaru noted that when she was amused, the light from her smile made her eyes twinkle. It wasn't exactly an unpleasant sight either. In fact, it was one of the prettier expressions he'd seen on humans, especially her. He had to make sure she did it more often.

"So," kagome started, glad that she didn't have to hide her smile anymore, "What did you want?"

Sesshomaru looked as though he was thinking for a long moment, then, he feigned confusion. He placed one claw on his chin and pulled his eyebrows down. "Hm. It seems as though I can't remember so… why don't we just talk until it comes back to me?"

Kagome's confusion certainly wasn't fake. It was mixed with quite a bit of astonishment along with disbelief. Was he…

…_flirting_ with her?

No. there was no way. Lord Sesshomaru didn't flirt, he simply took. And what would he want with _her_?

He was just being nice. That's all; just being polite. This was strange in itself, though slightly more comforting than what she originally had thought. Kagome bet he didn't even know how to flirt. She'd put_ money_ on it. What use would he have for something so human?

Nope. He was just being kind.

"Um, okay I guess." Kagome said uneasily.

Oh, she was suspicious again. Sesshomaru silently cursed her unstable emotions. One second, she was happy, the next depressed, and so on. But he couldn't allow himself to get frustrated. Instead, he used a new method to make her feel at ease. He gracefully sank to the ground, legs crossed, hands folded in his lap. The demon lord looked at her dead in her face and gestured with a sweep of his hand for her to sit as well.

Her eyebrows quirked curiously. He'd sat down. He'd settled in for a nice long chat and expected her to sit too.

Well, what could it hurt?

Kagome eyed him as she stepped forward and sat down and folded her legs underneath her. There was silence for a moment, in which the raven haired girl plucked blades of grass from the ground and shredded them to pieces.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" she said, truly looking at him for what seemed to be the first time since he came there.

Sesshomaru shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, to _begin_ with," he emphasized the begin part, "tell me which you prefer: tiger lilies of cherry blossoms…"

* * *

Yay!! Hurray for me!! I finally updated. Sorry it took me so long guys but I really didn't get very many reviews so I'm wondering if you guys really like it…

Please, please, please review or I may have to stop writing this one. I don't want to bore anyone!

Thanx to all my faithful reviewers though! You guys are the best!!

Forever Sess/Kag,

Whispers of Tenderness


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"So," Sesshomaru began, "what makes this… 'fast food' so much quicker than other meals?"

Kagome stifled her laughter. Over the past few weeks, all of their conversations had been going like this. She would tell him about something from her time or she'd thoughtlessly mention something and he would ask her about it. She would go through the pains of trying to explain it to him in the simplest terms possible and try not to laugh when he said something in his own words, because she'd learned that he definitely wasn't the type to laugh at.

"Well Sesshomaru, it's not really like that." She said, beginning the procedure. His expression never used to change when they were talking this way. He stayed the same as she had always thought of him. Or rather, the way she'd based her image of him because of other, much more dangerous, encounters they'd had. No matter what she had said to him, he'd never done a thing. Now that they'd been together and talking for what seemed like forever to her, he'd become a much more open person. There were never any huge changes but kagome could tell when he was interested in something she said because of a certain twinkle that illuminated his eyes, or when she'd offended him because he would purse his lips. That's how she learned not to laugh at him unless he smiled first.

Oh, and he smiled _a lot _more now.

Sesshomaru glanced over at the girl that'd he'd been (happily) allowing to steal his days from him. "Do tell."

Kagome cleared her throat, "Fast food really has nothing to do with the food actually moving. It has to do with the speed the food is made. It's called fast because _you_ don't actually have to cook it and it's much easier to get. Plus, it really doesn't take that long to make."

"If you aren't making it, who is?"

"The employees."

Sesshomaru's eyes took on that twinkle that Kagome had grown to recognize. She awaited, somewhat anxiously his next question.

"What pray tell miko, is an… employee as you say?"

The miko took a deep breath, her eyes becoming squinty and her brows dipping as she tried, he assumed, to think of how to explain this new thing to her. Much as he hated to admit it, Sesshomaru was actually enjoying being with the girl. She had a lot of interesting things to say to him. It was a side of her, or all humans, that he'd never really bothered to see before.

It was particularly nice to know that they actually had something that could be of some value to say. He'd have to remember that before killing the next one.

But maybe he would spare this one. Besides attempting to purify him, which only resulted in his favor anyway, she'd never really done anything to hurt him. Only when she was trying to defend that stupid half breed did a problem present itself. But she could easily defer from the pup. Sesshomaru probably wouldn't even have to do anything. Inuyasha unconsciously drove her to him in the first place, what with his insane fixation on that dead priestess. Personally, Sesshomaru didn't understand what his brother saw in former guardian of the jewel. For starters… she was dead. She was practically a doll already.

It mattered not. Inuyasha was insignificant. The only thing he was fully bred in was idiocy.

The miko was speaking again, "It's like… the person you pay to do work for you. So if you were a manager, the person in charge, you would get people to work for you and pay them. Those people are the employees."

What a senseless process. "But what if," Sesshomaru rested his chin on the back of his hand and looked Kagome directly in her eyes, "the manager is powerful enough that they don't need employees?"

Kagome bit her lip and leaned back on her hands, looking up at the white, fluffy clouds. How in the world could she explain this to him? No matter what she said, he always went back to his old timey speech that made it confusing.

"In the fast food business, there are normally a whole lot of people. And all those people want fast food. No matter how powerful the manager is, he needs extra people to help, so he hires employees."

"Hires?"

"Employs. Gets to work for him."

"Ah." Sesshomaru slouched (as much as someone like Sesshomaru can slouch) against a tree, lost in thought. Then, he perked up again, "So, an employee from your time is like a servant or a slave in this one."

Kagome couldn't help but laugh at that, "Yeah, I guess you could say that Sesshomaru."

There was a quiet moment where Sesshomaru silently gloated about his success.

"Now, what about those metallic creatures that cough black smoke and eat that foul smelling potion? The ones with circular feet that revolves to make it move? What is the significance of that?"

Kagome paused trying to think of what he was even talking about. Then, it hit her; he was asking about a car. She'd shown him a picture a while back and tried to explain it to him but that was when he was pretending hat he knew everything. Now, he wasn't afraid to ask.

"Well," Kagome began, and they were off again.

* * *

Inuyasha snuck out again last night. Kagome, from her spot on the ground, suddenly busted into hysterical laughter. Everyone else in the camp stopped what they were doing and shuffled over to the girl. They also knew about Inuyasha's little escapade last night but normally, kagome was quiet in the mornings when it happened. Today, it seemed as though she were positively insane.

Kagome looked up at all her friends and clamped her lips shut to hold in the rest of her giggles.

"Lady Kagome," Sango said slowly, "are you all right?"

All the rest of them seemed to have the same question because they leaned forward, anxiously awaiting her answer.

She nodded, trying to sober up, "Yes Sango. I'm fine." But then, Inuyasha himself appeared out of no where and the second Kagome glimpsed him, she was lost. Sango whipped around and yelled at Inuyasha.

"What the hell did you do to her!?" anger blazed in her glare but he wasn't even paying attention to her. He only had eyes for Kagome.

And they were very, very angry eyes.

"You!" he pointed a razor sharp claw at her. She was on the ground at this point, clutching her sides and gasping for air. "Are you laughing at me!?"

The raven-haired girl sat up and put her hand up, palm forward, waving it back and forth. "No, no." she gasped, wiping away tears.

"Then what's so damn funny?"

At just the thought, Kagome fell again, laughing so hard, Sango thought she would hurt herself. Inuyasha huffed with frustration and walked away. Miroku shook his head solemnly and pulled Sango away. Only Shippo stayed with her, at least until he smelled food. Then, he was gone and kagome was all alone.

Kagome couldn't believe herself. The second she realized that Inuyasha had left, she got all upset. Only this morning did it hit her how hypocritical she was being she was being. That's why she was laughing so hard. Sure, Inuyasha had snuck away but what had she been doing for the last month?

Suddenly, she started laughing again and she knew she had to get away from there. For starters, everyone kept looking at her funny and she knew if she stayed a minute longer, she'd probably pass out cold from lack of air.

Kagome stood up and, covering her mouth to try and muffle any sounds, backed away and into the woods. Where she eventually collapsed against a tree, laughing once again after realizing what she'd just done. She snuck away, out of camp. The girl covered her eyes, realizing it was completely hopeless, and let the laughter come.

The only thing that was able to calm her giggles was the deep voice of a completely unexpected person, and it only worked because it scared the crap out of her.

"Miko?" he said, the same way he always did whenever she was doing something he found odd. Kagome nearly screamed but instead, only gasped and covered her pumping heart.

"Gods," she stammered, turning to face him, "you have _got _to stop doing that."

The demon lord refrained form smiling, instead took in her disheveled appearance. When he arrived, he could have sworn she was sobbing uncontrollably. Only when he got closer did he realize that it wasn't crying, but laughing. He was extremely curious as to what made her so amused, but thought that if he asked her, she would fall into a fit of laughter that even he couldn't revive her from.

"I'm sure I look a mess." She said, self-consciously patting her flushed cheeks. She did, in fact, look… a mess as she put it, but he knew her well enough not to say it.

It was rather early for her to be coming out to the woods so he knew she hadn't come to meet him. Besides, it was in the wrong place anyway. The only reason Sesshomaru had come to find her was because he was bored back at his palace and he'd sensed that she was alone. Now that she was calm, they could actually talk.

Kagome wondered why he always found her the second she was away from the camp. No matter what was happening, when she was alone, he always appeared out of no where. Did he have a tracking device on her of something? But before she had a chance to say anything, a new voice emerged from somewhere nearby.

"Lady Kagome! Where are you?" it was Sango and she was only being nice because she thought there was something wrong. Unfortunately, she chose the worst possible moment to be a concerned friend.

"It's Sango! If she sees us together she'll kill me." Kagome whispered fiercely. "Go! I'll come back later."

Sesshomaru shook his head and before kagome even had a chance to blink, he was directly in front of her, a step away or so away. "Why don't _we_ go, and you'll come back to _them_ later?" kagome gaped at him but before she could reply, a branch snapped behind her and in one fell sweep, she was in Sesshomaru's arms and the, flying though the air.

Meanwhile Sango, who could've sworn she'd just seen Kagome's white shirt through the branches, stumbled right into the spot the miko had just been in and looked around, confused. 'But she was _just_ here!' the demon slayer thought. She called out her friend's name, got no response, and after looking around once more, turned and headed in a different direction. She didn't like the feel of that place. It seemed as though something bad was nearby. She just hoped kagome was okay.

"First things first," Sesshomaru spoke from one of the uppermost branches in the tree they were in, "we need to get away from here. It is too close to you camp." The miko seemed scared. She was clutching him as though her life depended on it. Sure, they were high off the ground but she should know that the demon lord would let no harm befall her.

"Oh… Kami…" kagome tried not to peer down through the branches but it was mesmerizing to stare death in the face that way. Unconsciously, she held on tighter to the demon lord who, little known to her, was trying not to react. He found it amusing, the way she was taking being up in the tree.

Kagome looked at him, her skin a shade or two lighter. "Couldn't we have just gone somewhere else? _Behind_ a tree maybe?"

"I apologize miko. I was only thinking about not being seen. I did not realize that you were afraid of heights."

Then, she became self-conscious again, "I never said that."

Sesshomaru was being… himself: closed off, cold, making her feel stupid for her reaction, "I assumed that because you seemed so uncomfortable up here that you were afraid of heights."

"I'm not afraid, "Kagome insisted, "Just a little… startled is all. I wasn't expecting you to grab me and catapult yourself up into a tree."

"Would you have preferred me leaving you down there or, worse yet, me staying there so we could both be seen by you friend?"

Kagome sulked as well as she could… considering she was hundreds of feet above the ground. Her silence gave him the only answer he needed and already knew anyway. But her reluctance to admit her fear gave him an idea.

Kagome saw the most peculiar look in Sesshomaru's eye and she gazed at him suspiciously. This was the worst possible time-place combination for one of his little games.

The demon lord shrugged, "We could just stay up here. The only one of your 'friends' that could possibly find us is the half breed, and he wouldn't dare do anything."

Kagome's eyes grew as wide as saucers and she shook her head. "No, I don't think so. Besides, Inuyasha probably would try to come get me and get himself killed in the process. No, I think the ground is better."

"Actually, I prefer the trees." Sesshomaru said casually, "It helps me stay in tune with nature and such. And as for my stupid brother, I truly wish he would try to steal you from me. It would just make it that much easier to rid myself of him."

Kagome looked down once more and shuddered slightly. Sesshomaru felt it, seeing as she was still tightly encompassed in his arms, but Kagome barely realized it. Her mind was locked on two things:

One: if she was to fall, most certain death would grasp her and she had a feeling that it would have extremely rough hands; and;

Two: the change in Sesshomaru's tone when he spoke of Inuyasha taking her away, though subtle, didn't go completely unnoticed by her. And she had an idea of the fact that it contributed to the tremor that raced up her spine.

"But…" she started absently.

"Well, if it really frightens you so miko, we can just go down." He shifted her in his arms so she was across his lap, but superman style so he could carry her.

"No, it doesn't!" she cried indignantly, "I just… it unsettles me."

"If you are uneasy, I shall let you down."

"I'm… okay." She said at length, her pride not letting her do what she truly wanted to.

"Miko, you seem extremely uncomfortable with our current arrangement. It bothers me not; if you wish for me to take you down, then I will oblige you."

"Well…"

"Yes. It is truly all right. There are a great number of humans who fear high places. You are one among many. Do not be ashamed." He baited unexpectedly.

"I am _not_ afraid! We can stay up here. It's fine."

"But—"

"No, really, its fine. I'm okay." She insisted.

"If you are absolutely certain."

"Yep. It's all good."

"Because I would not want to place you in a position that is the least bit unsatisfactory for you."

"You're not. It's actually kinda nice up here." She sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than him.

"As you wish miko." Sesshomaru smirked as she took another glance between the branches at the ground. He knew she was a very prideful girl; she would never admit a weakness, especially not to him, who appeared as the very image of power to her. Honestly, it didn't matter either way to him, he was just curious as to what she would do. Plus, their arrangement wasn't entirely unfavorable in his opinion.

'okay, that was the last time.' Kagome thought to herself after peering down. She wasn't going to tense up like this. Then, he'd know for sure that she was lying about not being afraid of heights. Instead, she looked up at the sun and the clouds. It was a much more pleasant sight and for a moment, she shut her eyes, feeling the sun rather than seeing it.

Rays of light from the sun caused the girl's eyes to glitter as though there were stars in them. Sesshomaru (secretly) marveled at this phenomenon. Humans were all the same to him; worthless sacs of meat that inhibit this earth for the mere purpose of recreation for those higher up in the food chain, such as himself. So what was the deal with her? He'd never had the urge to remove her head from her shoulders, or even spit where she walked. That was what was odd. Sesshomaru, if it wasn't already evident, had and extreme dislike for humans. He always thought of them as ants that he could step on as he pleased.

Maybe, she wasn't human. Maybe she did have some sort of demon in her somewhere. Technically, he could say that she wasn't a complete human because of her purification powers, but when it came down to it, she was classified as a human.

Sesshomaru just couldn't seem to figure it out. But he didn't have time now, she was talking.

"Every time we're together," she began, still looking up at the sky, "we talk about me. I want to learn about you now."

Sesshomaru shrugged, "What do you wish to know?"

Kagome mimicked his gesture exactly, "I dunno. Everything. Why do you look so human?" his eyebrow rose and she quickly amended her question, "I don't mean that you look like a human. I mean why do you… look more human than other demons? Some of the ones I've been faced with are extremely gruesome."

"And you do not believe I am gruesome?" the demon lord inquired. "Keep in mind; this is not my true form. I am really a giant, ferocious dog demon; one of which, I am sure you would find extremely gruesome, as you so delicately put it."

She believed him. Somehow, she couldn't see him as a fluffy little frou-frou dog with a much bigger bark than bite. When she thought of him as a dog, she thought of a wolf around the size of, oh, roughly Godzilla, that could scare you without even being in your presence.

"Yeah, but right now, you aren't gruesome in any way. As a matter of fact, if you showed up at my school one day, all the girls would be swooning and making fawn eyes at you.." she said somewhat sardonically. Sesshomaru could feel that this would produce an awkward conversation but he had to ask.

"And what does that mean?" he was innocent about it, but he couldn't miss the smile dropping from her face. He knew it.

Oh gods, she couldn't believe she'd just said that! And now he wanted to know what she meant? What!? "Um… well… it means that they'd all really… like you." Phew. She'd just bypassed that awkward moment.

"And why is that, do you suppose?"

Damn it! "Because…" she made the word long to give her time to think, "Well, like I said before, you aren't gruesome looking. And to us humans, you're actually… very…" she was struggling and he was enjoying it, but he truly had no idea of what she was trying to say. It took him a minute and lots of half said words before he thought he'd grasped the concept of what she was saying.

"Humans find me alluring." He said without a doubt in his mind. He knew it for a fact but he hadn't realized that that was what she was hinting at. It was that way with most pure demons.

A blush rushed to her cheeks. Kagome ducked her head and sort of nodded, "I guess you could say that."

Then, something else dawned on him. With a half smile he couldn't suppress, he lifted her chin so he could look her in the eyes, "You find me alluring?"

Her cheeks, which hadn't quite cooled yet, went crimson all over again. "Well, you certainly aren't ugly." She stammered, still looking him in the eyes. For her sake, he decided to dismiss it.

"So that is the meaning of 'swoon' and 'make fawn eyes'?" he released her chin because now she was looking at him on her own. She shrugged.

"Sort of. Its more like the reason they would swoon and make fawn eyes at you."

"Because I am attractive?"

"Yes." There was a pause in which Sesshomaru studied her, his eyes both skimming and burning over her face.

"So the males at your school must swoon and make fawn eyes at you all the time, yes?" the words were out of his mouth before he even realized they were there. He mentally cursed himself; he certainly hadn't meant to say that.

The raven-haired girl gaped at him for a moment, and then promptly burst out laughing. "No Sesshomaru," she gasped as she was recovering, "no, they don't.

"That makes no sense."

"It makes plenty of sense." Kagome insisted, "You're… flawless Sesshomaru. I'm definitely not."

"What makes me attractive in your eyes?" he demanded to know. Though he didn't originally intend to go down this road, he was trying to understand and what she was saying now was completely contradictory to what she told him before.

"It isn't my eyes we're talking about here." She replied defensively. Sesshomaru restrained himself from rolling _his _eyes.

"In _human_ eyes then."

"The better question is what _doesn't_." when she saw his expression, she elaborated, "Your strength, your grace, your skill, your hair; god, I'm jealous of your hair, your skin—"

"There is nothing special about my skin." He disagreed.

"Maybe not as a whole." She retorted. His brows dipped low over his eyes, which reflected the muddled thoughts in his mind.

"What, pray tell, do you mean by that?"

Kagome paused, only then realizing how deep she'd gotten into the conversation. She blushed for the third time in the last five minutes. "Just forget it." She looked away from him, but was surprised to feel him tense up.

"No." Sesshomaru replied taking her chin and coaxing her to look at him again. "I truly want to know." He seemed extremely curious, and she couldn't believe he was being so modest in the first place. He knew he was perfect. Why was he making her do this?

Kagome took a deep breath, "Take, for instance, your face. The skin on your face is very different from the skin on mine." The demon lord released her and listened patiently. "I get pimples, you don't. I get sunburn, you don't. My skin, though softer in the facial area, in no way compares to yours.

Sesshomaru shook his head, having heard enough. "You are wrong." He took one of her hands so her palm was facing forward and gently rubbed her fingertips against her cheek, "Your skin," then, he took that same hand and, looking her in the eyes, guided it to his own face, doing the same thing, "my skin." Except he kept her hand where it was, moving it so it was gently caressing his cheek. Kagome stared into his eyes, riveted and shocked beyond comparison. For starters, she couldn't believe that he was actually letting her touch his face, but she couldn't believe that for the most part, he was telling the truth. At first touch, their skin seemed exactly alike. She was right on one part though. Stroking his face was like running her fingers over silk.

The girl appeared hypnotized. Soon, her hand moved on its own and he released it. Instead, an unknown force drew him forward, to the skin of her face. Slowly, his own hand extended towards her, until he had one of her cheeks cupped in his palm. With complete and utter concentration, he ran his thumb over the bridge of her nose, then her eyes. He brushed his knuckles against her cheek and traced her jaw line with his fingertip.

"See?" he said softly. Her warm fingers swept over his highest cheekbones, before following the space between his brows all the way down to the tip of his nose. For a moment, her thumb ran over the dip right above his upper lip, and then shifted downward to his chin. She seemed to be tying to memorize every line, dip, and arch in his facial structure. He, on the other hand, had already committed the feel of her skin to his memory. There was no way he'd ever forget it.

Once again, Kagome caught his eye and the look in them stilled her. Not to mention the kind, tender grazing of his thumb over her slightly parted lips. She would've never known that Sesshomaru could be so gentle. He touched her as though he thought she was a rare artifact that could crumble to pieces at any given moment in time, so he had to treasure the instance he had to memorize exactly what she felt like, for when the point did come for her to go.

"See miko?" he repeated, adding the only name he addressed her as. His hand never left her face, never stopped moving. It seemed to him as though he couldn't.

"See what." She whispered, imprisoned in his steady gaze.

He smiled ever so slightly, knowing what he was doing to her by looking at her, wondering if she had any idea as to what she was doing to him without his knowledge by opening her eyes so widely, giving her the look of pure innocence as she looked back. This, he realized, must be what the swooning she'd told him about so much earlier was.

"We are not so different after all."

Later, Sesshomaru jumped from the tree with the girl in his arms, much more at ease. Already, it had begun to grow dark and though the sun was still up, kagome knew she'd only have a couple of hours before she'd have to walk through the woods in the dark.

What had happened between them wasn't brought up again; not forgotten, merely stored away in their half-empty box of memories together. Kagome was sure to think about every thing the second he was gone, and Sesshomaru, though in pieces, would slowly replay every single thing that occurred. Granted, he'd be scolding himself or trying to convince him that it would never happen again, but that would only be an excuse to allow him to think about her.

When they were on the ground, he set her on her face but he didn't release her. Instead, he turned her around quickly so her back was pressed against his chest. He wasn't exactly holding her so she couldn't move, but he was holding her, and that was what kept Kagome where she was. His hands were on her wrists, her arms bent at the elbow so it looked like she was reaching for something. She was very aware of his hands on her wrists like shackles that didn't hold her there by strength but the mere feel of them being there, very aware of his body against hers, very aware of his head, not quite on her shoulder but close enough so that his every breath sent shivers racing down her back.

"I shall be here again tomorrow." Sesshomaru said simply. His voice was so soft; it was like he was whispering. Kagome tried to breathe normally.

"Okay. I'll be here too." She replied. The demon lord shut his eyes and took a deep breath, turning his nose slightly into her neck. He hadn't realized how nice her scent was. By now, it had to be all over him, but he didn't mind.

"By the way miko," Sesshomaru said suddenly, "you are human, so when we spoke of human eyes, we were, in fact, speaking of you." and he was gone. There wasn't a sound, she just felt his warmth fade away. Kagome gasped and whirled around, looking for him in the trees. She couldn't see him, but she knew he was still there. Nevertheless, she turned and began trudging toward the camp, throwing one last glance over her shoulder.

From deep in the woods, Sesshomaru chuckled. After today there was no challenge when it came to her. He refused to allow himself to think of his own reaction, he need only focus on hers. He was perfectly reassured now.

He had her. Beyond a shadow of a doubt.

He had her.

Meanwhile, farther away in the forest, Kagome was just coming to terms to what she had been trying to fight since the very beginning. Sesshomaru had become more than just a play date buddy, a forbidden thrill.

Kagome finally let her wall collapse and admit to herself that she felt more for him than she ever should. She liked him. And not as a friend. She was far past that. She had a crush on her supposed worst enemy.

* * *

**whoo yay!! that one was much faster right? everyones reviews were so nice so i decided to work my butt off to get this too you faster. keep all the reviews coming please, you have no idea how much they help me out!!**

**everyone enjoy!!**

**Whispers Of Tenderness**

* * *


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Kagome broke through the grasping limbs and into the clearing, managing only to put a nice sized grass stain on the hem of her white uniform top. She eyed it to asses the damage and decided that some Tide would wipe it out pretty well if she tried to go back home tonight.

She barely got two steps into the clearing when someone sauntered her way.

"Where've you been, wench?" Inuyasha demanded. Kagome rolled her eyes at him as he walked up and got in her face. Almost immediately, he drew back, covering his nose in disgust. The raven-haired girl blinked in surprise. It hadn't been _that_ long. She couldn't smell _that _bad.

"What's with you?" she asked without a trace of anger, just shock and genuine curiosity. Miroku, after seeing Inuyasha shrink back and gag at Kagome, also stepped closer to listen.

"You _stink_ of him!" he hissed through clenched teeth. Kagome was still blank. Who in the world was he talking about?

"What're you talking about Inuyasha?"

His teeth snapped, startling her, "_Sesshomaru_! His scent is all over you!"

Oh. Whoops.

Kagome instantly turned a bright shade of red. _That's _what he'd been talking about all along? Why didn't she realize it before it was too late? Gods, she was such an idiot sometimes! She knew he'd figure it out eventually but now, she was actually faced with it.

And it was _not _going to be pretty.

"Inuyasha…"

"Is that where you've been going? Sneaking off to see my _brother_!?"

"Inuyasha just let me explain—"

"_Explain_!?" he exploded. Now, it was Kagome's turn to shrink back. "Explain _what_? This is your only chance Kagome!" he reached forward and snatched her up by her upper arm, "_WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON BEHIND MY BACK_!?" Fury caused his amber eyes to become molten lava. For a moment, Kagome was actually frozen in fear. He'd never gotten this mad about anything, and especially not at her. Inuyasha looked like he was ready to hurt her.

But only for a moment.

As quickly as it was there, it was replaced by an anger of her own. How dare he? How _dare_ he question anything she does? His own affairs weren't squeaky clean but she never said anything to him about it. Did he think he owned her or something? That he had any authority over her whatsoever? Did he honestly believe that she would answer to him?

She matched his glare easily, "The same thing," yanking her arm from his vice grip was amazingly easy, "that's been happening behind _mine_!"

Inuyasha blinked, taken aback.

"Yeah that's right! I know all about you sneaking off at night to meet up with your disgusting, dead, clay, _bitch_!" she continued fearlessly. His eyes widened, then narrowed dangerously.

Miroku uttered an ,"Oh, dear." then backed away and out of the line of fire.

"I don't care _who_ you are!" Inuyasha growled, "NO ONE talks that way about Kikyo!"

Kagome snorted, "What's she gonna do? Try to suck out the _rest_ of my soul? Been there, done that!"

Inuyasha's head shook methodically, "That wasn't Kikyo! That was the witch woman's work!"

"Yeah, the _first_ time! But what about after that? Who was it then? Oh that's _right_ it was your little Miss I-Can-Do-No-Wrong!"

He was about to say something else but he stopped himself and stared at her with scorn in his eyes.

"To think, she died only to give you life." He muttered to himself. Kagome blinked at him, all anger suddenly gone. His eyes grazed over her, then filled with such sorrow it made her chest hurt. She wondered why he had changed his approach so fast. Normally when they argued, she was the one who stepped away. Then, she realized all she said and immediately felt horrible. She was just about to apologize when he spoke again.

"I'd take the trade any day."

There it was. Without yelling, without hitting or any physicality, without even directly talking to her, he'd just inflicted the worst pain she'd ever felt.

But she refused, absolutely refused to let him see it.

"Well," she worked to keep the tears from choking her voice," You wont have to worry about it for much longer." And she busied herself, shoving things into her bag. When she was done, she shouldered it, bending to support all the weight, and begun walking.

"Where do you think you're going?" Inuyasha snapped from his spot on the ground where he'd been previously ignoring her. She didn't turn because she was crying and the last thing she wanted was a whole episode before she left.

"Hey!" quick as a flash, he was behind her, "I said, where ya goin'?"

She whirled on him, too frustrated, too annoyed and too hurt to care anymore. Angrily, she slashed her hand across her face to eliminate some of the tears but it was no use; they kept falling freely.

"HOME. I'M. GOING. HOME! Now get_ away _from me!" she shouted. And without pausing to see his expression (terrified; he hated tears), she forged on, towards the well.

And she was half disappointed that he didn't follow.

As she walked, Kagome reflected on what had just happened. Why did she do that? The subject of Kikyo was strictly forbidden and she knew that. Of course she knew; it had been drilled into her head the second Kikyo was brought up the first time. Usually, Kagome didn't like to hurt him and mentioning her as the worst thing she could ever do. Not to mention all the horrible things she had said about her. Much as she hated to admit it, Inuyasha in no way deserved that.

But what about _her_? Kagome groaned in frustration. Did she really deserve all the evil things he'd said? Especially that last comment, about how he'd rather her be dead and Kikyo alive in her place.

Just thinking about it made fresh tears flow all over again. How could he _say_ that to her? And he really meant it too. She could tell by the amount of sadness in his eyes. Inuyasha can't make up something as intense as that. As a matter of fact, that was the most emotion he'd ever shown her.

Maybe this was for the better. Maybe she should just leave and not come back. He'd said himself that he'd rather Kikyo be there than her. Maybe, just maybe, she could give that to him.

But just as she approached the well, the only reason she had to stay was there, perched at the edge. Seeing him only made any crying she'd thought she was done with come back just as strong.

"Miko?" he stood, looking perplexed. Why was she crying? What had happened to cause her this much pain? She tried to smile, failed, but still managed to have that captivating look about her.

"Oh Sesshomaru. Hey." She choked out, trying to seem nonchalant. As if she thought that if she didn't say anything or indicate that she was crying what appeared to be rivers that he wouldn't notice.

Why did he always have to be there? And that look he was giving definitely wasn't helping. His head was sort of cocked to the side, eyebrows ever so slightly dipped. He looked like someone that was trying not to look confused.

And it was simply adorable.

Boy did she hate to have him see her like this. All torn into pieces, crying, face all red and blotchy. He must think she looked disgusting.

As he studied her, Sesshomaru noted that with her dark hair and ivory skin, the slight flush of her cheeks actually added to whatever beauty she had. And her eyes, so bright, accompanied it, giving her the overall look of an angel of sorts.

"What has happened?" he asked. "Where are you going?"

Kagome shrugged, "Its nothing really, just something Inuyasha said earlier. It just got to me and I decided that maybe I should just go home—"

He was there before she even had time to react. With one swift movement, he slipped the straps of her backpack off and they slid down her arms just as he pulled her into his embrace and held her. Kagome gasped and stood completely still for a moment, too shocked to do anything. This sort of thing was completely out of character for him. such a sudden show of affection seemed to invite her tears back full force. How ironic was it that she could get something from some one that she didn't feel strongly for but she couldn't even receive a kind word from the one man she was willing to give her life for?

Her body went into motion of its own accord. She brought her arms up, closed them around him and rested her head against his chest. Why he did it, she didn't care but she wasn't about to let a moment for a real hug that she needed to go by.

Sesshomaru didn't know what had happened. One minute, he was standing there getting angry at his idiot brother, the next, he was struck by a feeling he'd never experienced before. It only came when she began speaking about going back to her home. He'd gotten so far, only to have his chance ruined by something the hanyou said? An embrace wasn't the first thing he'd had done, but somehow, this action had been completely out of his control.

"What did he say to you?" Sesshomaru murmured, sounding just as unattached as ever. But still, in the undercurrents of his words, Kagome could sense some feeling.

The downhearted girl sighed, "He… he said he'd rather have me dead and Kikyo alive." It hurt to even say the words and tears threatened to spill from her eyes all over again.

Sesshomaru blinked. Could it be true? The the half breed really do something so cruel? He must know how the girl feels about him, yet he says the exact thing that would cause her the most harm. Anger boiled in him once again. How could he be of any relation to a creature so reckless and stupid?

"Miko, the priestess Kikyo _is_ you in a sense. If she was meant to be alive, the gods would have planned it that way. Instead, she became the earth so you may flourish because now is _your_ time. Inuyasha knows not what he speaks of. He cannot control destiny anymore than his tongue."

He was pleased to hear kagome laugh a bit at that. Slowly, he pulled back to look into her tear filled eyes. A smile longed to push its way onto his face but he refused it. Already, he'd shown too much.

"Do not let the half breed's words influence your decisions, because you have more to come back to than just him." It was quiet, but kagome was sure those were the words that were whispered in her ear. Kagome looked at him for a moment, stunned. Could he really mean that? She paused to think, and then made her decision.

"Okay." She nodded slowly. "I'm not gonna leave for good, but I still have to leave." And she smiled.

Joy filled the demon lord. She wouldn't leave! She was staying!

His plan still had a chance.

She pulled out of his arms and reached down for her bookbag. He'd already lifted it before she could even get down there. She folded her arms and eyed him.

"I really do have to go home." Sh said carefully. "ive got to do some things and say hi to my family… its been a while."

"So you will come back?"

She smiled again. "Yes Sesshomaru. Give me a week. No, five days and I'll be popping out of this well again."

He remained weary, "Assure me you'll come back. No, what is it…" he bent his head in concentration then perked up, "Promise! Promise me that you'll not disappear."

She fully laughed at that. "I _promise_. Five days."

"Two days." He haggled.

"Three days." She fired back.

"All right, three days. I expect to see you here." He stepped forward and slipped her backpack on her. she grimaced at the added weight and threw one foot over the edge.

"I'll be here Sesshomaru."

"I'll be waiting."

And she jumped into the well, leaving that world and entering the next. Sesshomaru peered into the well, saw nothing, and then stood up straight, flexing his claws.

"I know you are there half breed." He called out clearly. "If you are unhappy with my relationship with the miko, why don't you come out from your hiding place and talk to me face to face?"

He grinned as he felt his brother's vanishing presences. What a coward he was. If that was all it took to truly anger him than Sesshomaru had to be sure to touch the girl more often. Leave her smelling like him at all times, because as far as he was concerned, as of now…

…she officially belonged to him.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Being back home was exciting, yet at the same time, boring. For starters, Kagome couldn't seem to get out of her old routine. Every morning, she awoke insanely early, shocked not to have a backache or someone screaming in her ear about breakfast. Then, she'd open her eyes and remember that she was back in her own time.

Not to even _mention_ school. Everyone asked questioned her about her most recent ailment and Hojo constantly assaulted her, asking to carry her books for her or help her to class (supposedly, her most recent "disease" had to do with the temporary paralysis of a limb). All of which she politely declined and rushed forward into the mob of students to escape his ongoing hospitality.

Even her friends were being unusually hard on her.

"What is _with_ you, Kagome?" one of the said as the raven-haired girl sighed and looked out the window longing to be somewhere else. Somewhere with no school (at least not like this).

"She's obviously is trying to recover from her overwhelming sickness." Another replied snootily. Kagome was paying them no mind. All her thoughts were a day away. '_Tomorrow,_' she kept thinking to herself, '_tomorrow, I go back and he'll be waiting for me_.'

"No, I don't think that's it." Another, much more observant and insightful friend said, "I think this has to do with something else. Something… _guy_ related!"

Kagome was instantly startled from her stupor. She looked from one friend to another, seeing the grins forming on their faces.

She groaned and dropped her head on the table, "Not again."

They all attacked at once. Even as the questions were flying at her nonstop, she answered them all in her head. Her friends never paused long enough to her to get two words out.

"What's his name?" _way too confusing_

"What's he like? Is he hot?" _if only you knew._

"Does he always make you feel this way?" _ Let's not even go there._

"What makes him so special?" _you'd never understand_

"It's not that other guy is it? Cause he's a big jerk, Kagome." The raven-haired girl smiled slightly; _wish he could hear you say that._

"Is he different than all the others?" _in more ways than one._

"What school does he go to?" _not one you'll have ever heard of_

"Are you guys in love?"…

_I don't think he knows how to love_

At that, the girls let out with screeching laughter that Kagome almost immediately silenced.

"Girls!" Kagome suddenly made her opinion known because she'd finally had enough, "there is _no_ boy!" she slashed her hand through the air for extra emphasis. They all stared at her, crushed to see how serious she was. Kagome rolled her eyes and doodled absentmindedly in her math book showing them that she was no longer interest.

Completely lost, her friends wandered onto more safe topics like clothes and hair. Left to burrow in on her own thoughts, Kagome went a bit deeper into her last one.

_Did_ Sesshomaru know how to love? Had he ever loved anyone before? Well, besides him, of course. Was there ever a time he'd thought of someone before himself?

Kagome thought that maybe, if he hadn't, she'd like to teach him. If there was anything he could really learn from her, it was how to love. She'd practically thrown it to Inuyasha, but he'd already learned how from someone else. He didn't need, or want her lessons.

Maybe she was wrong to go from one demon to another, and not just another, but the brother. Maybe she should just forget about Sesshomaru and Inuyasha both. She was a young, healthy woman! What did she need a man for? Why in the world was she allowing herself to stress so much over something so completely unnecessary?

Yeah. That's what she'd do. Stop talking to Sesshomaru and deal with Inuyasha the way she used to. She and the demon lord should never have gotten so close in the first place. It simply wasn't meant to be. That was it. Just forget about them both.

But Kagome lifted her hand and stared at it, recalling the feel of his skin against her fingertips. And suddenly, the last think she was doing was forgetting. All she could manage to do was remember.

Remember how much he'd changed. Remember the random kindness of his smile. Remember the warmth of his arms; the kind of warmth she'd never thought she'd get to feel. Remember the sweet comfort of his last words.

And with burst of laughter, she remembered how lost she'd been before him. And knew she'd never make it.

***

"Sota, I'm going again!" Kagome called up the stairs. Her little brother came running down, hair tousled and sock halfway off his foot. When he spotted her humongous backpack, his face fell dramatically.

"Aw, already? But you just got here!"

Kagome smiled and ruffled his hair, "I know Sota, but I promised someone that I'd come back today."

He perked up a bit, "Who? Inuyasha?"

Kagome tried not to wince. Her smile became terribly fake because she was forcing it so hard, No, not Inuyasha. Someone else." His brow furrowed and he opened his mouth to speak but Kagome didn't give him the chance, "Well, I'll see you in a little while. I'll probably be back when I run out of passionfruit." She grinned and held up the brown paper bag in her hand.

"But mom gave you enough to feed an army!"

"Yeah, and an army is what I'll be fighting off the second everyone gets a whiff of these."

"Kagome's bother smiled victoriously, "Yes! Well, see you soon, Kagome. I'll tell Mom you said bye!"

She was laughing even before she got out the door. When she looked down into the well however, all that changed. After what happened when she left, she wasn't sure she even had a place back there. In fact, if it wasn't for Sesshomaru, she probably wouldn't even consider going back. That was just it. Her whole reason for leaving was the only reason she had for coming back.

If she just backed away now, there'd be nothing to worry about. Kagome's problems with Inuyasha would disappear because she'd never see him again. Never have to pretend not to hear him sneak of at night again. Never have to act like it didn't hurt when she saw him with Kikyo again.

Just the thought made her eager to turn around. What would she give to never experience that kind of pain again? But what about the other one; Sesshomaru? What could she possibly say to him?

Kagome remembered what he said before she left, that she had more to come back to than just Inuyasha. Was that really the truth? Did he really feel that way about her? Would he miss her if she never showed up in the well today? Or any other day, for that matter.

Kagome shook her head to erase those stupid thoughts. Most certainly not. He wouldn't care if she came back or not. More likely than not, this was just a game for him. Something to do between killing people and trying to the Tetsuiga. Sesshomaru thought of no one but himself, which was probably the smartest thing he could ever do.

That way, he'd never be hurt.

Regardless of the truth, Kagome just couldn't accept it and walk away. Much as she hated to admit it, over the weeks, she'd grown to feel something for the icy demon lord. It had to be the worst thing she could ever do, but it happened and she couldn't protect herself in time to prevent it. With him, she hadn't thought she had to.

And he made her promise.

Kagome didn't care if he was just a good actor. He'd seemed really upset that she was leaving and he'd cut her days down to three.

It was almost as if he couldn't stand to be away from her.

Regardless, a promise was a promise. Kagome took a deep breath and jumped in, preparing for whatever was waiting for her on the other side.

***

Three days, three days, Sesshomaru decided, was much too long. It would be two next time. No, there wouldn't be a next time. It was so dull in this world when the girl wasn't there. Sesshomaru had grown quite accustomed to her going to meet her in the woods each day. To break such a set-in custom felt strange to him, almost unnatural. Now, he lounged around his castle, refusing to speak to anyone or handle any business. Without Kagome, his ambition as well as his attention for everything was gone. He was just lazy.

Sesshomaru couldn't even remember what he used to do before he'd begun talking to the miko. Was he ever doing anything worthwhile at all?

It didn't matter. Whatever it was was nothing compared to all the joy he was getting from wooing this naïve woman into trusting him.

And plus, it was day three. Kagome should be coming through the well at any moment.

Kagome. The demon lord realized that he referred to her by her actual named when in his mind. Never once had he spoken it aloud and certainly not to her. He wouldn't give her the pleasure of knowing so much of his time was spent on thinking of her.

Well, actually, it was probably too late for that. What'd done, Sesshomaru decided, the day she left was the stupidest thing ever. Not only had he practically begged her to stay, but he'd touched her. Actually physically taken her into his arms and held her in a way that could possibly be interpreted as intimate.

It was true, Sesshomaru wanted to get close to the miko but he had just crossed every line and defied any rules he'd set out for himself. The frightening part of the whole ordeal was that if the opportunity were to present itself once more, he'd probably do it again.

The demon lord wondered when, without his knowledge, their relationship had taken a turn in the completely wrong direction. And why he, being the observant demon he was, hadn't seen it coming and in fact welcomed it more than rejected.

No matter, Sesshomaru pushed it to the back of his mind. It was the time for him to go wait for the miko. But instead of rushing through the forest like he usually did, Sesshomaru walked, taking the girl's advice for a change.

'_Sometimes you should take a break from speeding through things and places, and sneaking up on people' _she'd said with an expression he'd grown to recognize as her head being somewhere up in the clouds. _'Sometimes, you should just do what I do: walk. And look. And listen. Then you'll really start to understand where I'm coming from when I explain things to you.' _

As he strolled through the trees, leaves bright green and crisp, he did begin to understand. Her point of view was more, soft, shielded from the horrors and pains of life. She always looked for the best in everything and he could see it in all the things around him.

Arriving at the well, Sesshomaru paused to listen to the birds' music and marvel at how beautiful they were. Music wasn't something he paid too much attention to any longer, so to hear it after so long was quite a surprise. The demon lord perched on the edge of the wooden well, surrounded by new sounds and perspectives and actually enjoying something he didn't know a thing about.

***

Kagome didn't even get two feet into the well before she was lifted out and deposited neatly on ground. Sesshomaru, after releasing her, stood a couple feet way not smiling, bland as ever, but Kagome knew him too well. She could tell he was glad to see her.

"Wow, Sesshomaru, you're actually here!" she exclaimed. And it wasn't exactly fake either. She really was surprised to see him. Honestly, she figured he'd have forgotten about her by now, so lost in catching up on things he hadn't been able to do for a month.

"I said three days, did I not?" he inquired simply. Kagome smiled and pushed her book bag off, massaging her shoulders.

"Yes you did. But I mean gosh, I wasn't even waiting for five seconds!"

The smile that had been fighting to surface finally split his face. "On the contrary, miko. I also believe I told you that it would be I who would be waiting, and it would only be for you."

Damn. Mistake already. Why was he doing this insane 'flirting' she'd spoken of? Why couldn't he go back to the way it was before they started talking? Why was this girl making him turn away from everything he'd ever known?

The raven- haired girl's smile went a bit brighter. "All right, all right. Goodness. And the mighty Lord Sesshomaru always keeps his word."

Words formed of their own accord, Sesshomaru almost seemed to be watching this happen without being able to stop it, "Finally," he said, "you're beginning to get it."

At first, he was cursing himself for his lack of control but when he heard her laugh, he decided he no longer cared. Compared with the way she left; tears streaming down her face, eyes showing her heart as it broke, smile looking so forced it was a shock her cheeks didn't fall off; it was worth it. Of course, it wouldn't happen again, but in this case, his momentary slip was excusable.

"Ah. Home was nice but there's absolutely nothing as beautiful as being here." Kagome sighed as she surveyed the land she'd grown so familiar with. Along one side of the old well, deep green ivy grew, little dots of pink and white making it look like a canvas. All around her, tiny daisies and tulips laid among grasses waving gently in the light grass. Kagome honestly thought that there was no where back home that liked even remotely as serene and beautiful.

Sesshomaru watched as she closed her eyes and took a slow deep breath. As she blew it out, her eyes opened slowly and she sighed again. "It always smells so wonderful here."

Kagome's long, ebony hair sparkled as the sunlight caught it. To Sesshomaru, it seemed like all her joy and energy was being reflected by the sun into an image of the night sky with stars spread randomly, twinkling at him. For a moment, it captivated him but he chose to ignore it. To pretend he didn't even see it.

"Did you enjoy being back home?" he asked, startling Kagome from her thoughts. She looked at him and blinked, biting her lip.

"Yeah. It was nice seeing all my friends and family after so long. And I'd forgotten how good the food was back home." She paused, but Sesshomaru could sense that there was something else she wanted to say.

"But?" the demon lord prompted. Kagome smiled a bit. How did he always do that? She looked away from him, at a little blossom she hadn't noticed before. It grabbed her attention and she was tempted to touch it.

"But… like I said, nothing is like being here. I would've preferred just to stay."

Kagome pushed away from the well and walked over to the flower, enraptured. Without any hesitation, she lay down on her stomach in front of it and lightly fingered its petals. It had to be the strangest flower she'd ever seen. The inside of it was a bright yet dark yellow, like a crayon or a marker. But it wasn't just a bubble or a circle. It sort of went up the flower at a curved point and the color above it was orange. The orange started bright right where it met with the yellow, as though the two colors were mixing but the closer it got to the top, the darker it got until it was almost red. The flower itself was practically closed, in the shape of a teardrop. It was odd because it looked as though it hadn't full bloomed but when she got close enough to see the petals, she could tell it was fully grown.

"It is called Dragon's Breath," Sesshomaru said. Kagome looked up sharply to see him standing in front of her, looking dawn at her. She gazed back at the flower, still captivated by its simple beauty. "Also called Fire Bulb because of its shape and coloration," he continued to explain, "do you not have these in your time?"

The miko shook her head slowly. "I've never seen anything like it."

"There's a sizable patch in my garden."

Kagome glanced at him with an arched brow, her attention finally diverted, "_You_ have a garden?"

He nodded, "Quite a large portion of my land actually. Flowers of every kind grow there. I believe you would enjoy it."

She smiled as she was struck by the image of Sesshomaru in a straw brimmed hat and gardening gloves with a basket full of peonies and a trowel, "I bet I would."

Without thinking about it, Sesshomaru told himself that he had to take her to see his garden. Obviously, if she could enjoy nature so much, it would be something she would lose herself in.

"So how did you manage while I was gone?" Kagome asked, still lying on the ground.

The demon lord shrugged, "Fine."

"Did you get anything done?"

"Of course," he lied. In fact, he didn't get a single thing done. Not that there was really anything to do, but still. She definitely didn't need to know.

There was a twinkle in the miko's eye, "Important demon lord stuff?"

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed, "What else would I possibly do?"

Kagome chuckled softly then looked at him with an innocent expression, "Oh, I don't know."

The demon lord panicked, but she didn't see it. It was only in his head. She seemed to realize that he hadn't gotten a thing done since she left. How could she tell? He'd been very careful not to portray any emotion.

Maybe they'd been spending too much time together. It seemed as though she could read him too easily.

"Well, miko, I'll leave you now. I've matters to attend to." He told her calmly. She looked up at him, somewhat upset that he was going so soon. She just got back! Never the less, she knew he'd never stay if she asked him to.

"Okay," she said, standing, "see you later." And with that he disappeared. With a sigh, Kagome realized that now she had to go back to camp. Where Inuyasha was.

Now, she wished she'd stayed home longer.

Kagome shouldered her bulky backpack, bending to support the weight, and began the slow journey to what was bound to be hell itself.

***

"Kagome, I apologize for what I said to you before you left. It was extremely rude of me and I honestly didn't mean any of it. Please forgive me."

_That's _what was waiting for her when she got to the camp. The raven-haired girl stared at him in complete shock as he stood in front of her, practically groveling.

What the _hell_ happened while she was gone?

"Um… okay, I guess. Oh, and I'm really sorry for what I said about Kikyo, too."

Inuyasha winced as though it hurt to hear her name. Finally, Kagome understood. Something had happened with the priestess. Something that showed him how bad she truly was and now he was coming for forgiveness. Now, he must realize that kagome had been right all along.

Part of her rejoiced; finally he knew the truth. Another, bigger part of her ached for him. How horrible it must've been to realize that the first woman, the _only_ woman he ever loved only wanted to wreak havoc on his life.

"Yes, well, what's done is done." He replied, then he disappeared the same way Sesshomaru did.

Strange. He hadn't said anything about his brother's scent. Kagome knew it had to be all over her.

Could her really be so hurt that he didn't even notice something so important to him? Or did he just not care anymore?

'_Stupid Kikyo,' _kagome thought bitterly, _'everywhere you go you're ruining lives'_

***

When Sesshomaru entered the clearing, the miko was sitting on the ground, her back against a tree, legs stretched out in front of her, eating something. It smelled sweet and she seemed to be greatly enjoying it for it took her a moment to look up and see him.

"Oh, hey Sesshomaru." She acknowledged him quickly, and then went back to her food, cutting it into chunks with a small knife.

Though the demon's original intentions were to tell the girl that he could no longer meet with her every day and say nothing else, his curiosity got the best of him.

"What is that you are eating miko?" he asked, stepping closer to her and sinking to the ground, "I've never seen anything like it and its smells are foreign to me."

Kagome paused in hacking up her fruit, "It's a passionfruit. They come from my time, so you probably won't find any here." She explained. A silent moment passed where Sesshomaru tried to recall if he'd ever seen or smelled it before and Kagome shifted it from one hand to the other.

The miko had noticed that something seemed strange about him when he first showed up. He was almost completely stiff and frigid; the way he'd been when they first met. She hoped that he'd shaken off whatever it was restricting him, because she'd hate to start all over from the beginning.

"Do you want to try some?" the miko asked, startling Sesshomaru from his thoughts. His eyes focused and he looked at her, her eyes questioning as she offered the passionfruit, "It's really good."

The demon lord eyed the fruit cautiously. "Is it safe?" he asked, always careful.

Kagome couldn't help but laugh at that. Normally, it would irk him but this turned out to be one of her bubbly giggles that he favored so it was okay.

"I really hope so." She replied, an eyebrow quirked up in a most amusing way. Sesshomaru had to restrain himself from smiling. "Here, take this." She carefully carved a small piece out of the middle of the fruit and handed it to him.

If she had been eating it all that time, then it must be okay. Sesshomaru took it from her and inspected it thoroughly. Kagome had already busied herself with the laborious task of cutting a new piece. Normally, he wouldn't eat something that he never heard of before, but he felt as though he could trust the miko. Plus, he felt a strong urge to try the passionfruit. As though it was extremely important, or would become such.

With a mental shrug, Sesshomaru popped the small square into his mouth. He was immediately shocked by the juices that flooded into his mouth and ran in streams down his throat, taking over his senses. It was a million things at once; an explosion of various flavors, none he could specifically name but all seeming as though he knew exactly what it was, he just couldn't recall the words to name them. Amazingly sweet with the slightest tang; the fruit was absolutely succulent. It was something Sesshomaru had never, ever tasted before; such a new experience, but he knew right away that he liked it. Normally, he wouldn't go for sweet things like that but this… passionfruit was something so diverse from his usual yet seeming to fit in place with him perfectly. He knew that no mater what it was, no matter where it came from, he had to have it.

"Good, right?" Kagome's eyes twinkled as she asked the question. She'd been watching him the whole time, had seen the shock on his face.

"Yes," he answered with ease, "very much so. How can I acquire more of this passionfruit?"

She grinned, "My mother loves these things. When I go back home again, I'll get tons more for you, but for now we can share this one."

**YAYAY!! I finally finished it! I'm really sorry that it took me so long to finish this one for you, but I've been really really busy over these months. Some of that time has been occupied with writing a new story! Its called With This Kiss, and all you romantics will REALLY like it! I would love for you to read it and review to tell me how it is because it starts of really sweet and mushy and everything! Just let me know what you think, because not a lot of ppl have read it and I'm a little worried that maybe it isn't good. But trust me, if you like Passionfriut, then you'll absolutely love With This Kiss! More updates soon, I promise! As always, read and review please. I always love to hear feedback on each chapter.**


	8. Chapter 8

Sesshomaru was relaxing in his garden. Lately, at least since he'd been talking to his brother's miko, he was noticing more things about his surroundings. That wasn't the only change that he'd begun to see in himself, but it was the one that he was actually willing to acknowledge. The others were pointless and merely temporary things that he was using to further influence the miko. Her gentle human sensibilities had forced him to soften himself considerably and while extremely irritating, he could tell that it would only be a matter of time until the silly girl would be willing to do whatever he asked of her.

In all honesty, it wasn't necessarily bad for him to be able to relax every now and then. As the most impressive and clearly most powerful demon lord in the Western Realm (if he did say so himself), much pressure was placed on Sesshomaru's shoulders. While he realized that it was part of his duty as a lord, he could admit to himself that spending time with the miko could be a welcomed relief at times. Of course he was never off his guard – spending time with the girl meant that he was always wary of the stinking half breed's shenanigans, for one never knew when he would decide to act foolishly against his much more powerful, smarter, full breed brother. As a matter of fact, it was quite a surprise to Sesshomaru that the half breed hadn't tried anything in all of the time he had been spending with Kagome. One would figure that it would require the least amount of smarts to be somewhat suspicious of the demon lord's motives. But of course, that would be assuming that the half breed had some amount of smarts.

It was also a bit of a surprise that their little ragtag group hadn't migrated in quite a while. Normally the half breed had them running all over creation, searching for his precious jewel shards. In fact, they very rarely stayed in one place for very long at all – a week or so at most. It had been a month or so since Sesshomaru had started talking to the girl, and they hadn't moved once. That was very suspicious behavior for a creature of habit like Inuyasha. The demon lord wondered what he was up to, or what was holding him to that particular area.

He mentally shrugged. Who cares? He had nothing to do with any of the half breed's hair brained ideas so he wasn't about to try to speculate about his motives for any of the things he did. That would require putting himself in the mindset of the whelp and the great lord Sesshomaru shuddered to even think of what it would be like to try to lower his mental capacity that way. Besides, it was serving his purposes very well that they weren't going anywhere. Not that it would be a strain on him or anything like that, but it was extremely convenient for the demon lord that he was not required to search for whatever new camp they had created. Especially since the miko had the propensity to randomly disappear and by now, he was familiar with all of the places that she went to outside of her camp.

Sesshomaru speculatively watched a bright orange leaf waft slowly to a particularly bright patch of green grass. For the time being, all of Mother Nature was in soft silence, awash in the vibrant colors of the season. It contrasted starkly with the demon lord's carefully blank mood, but of course that was another thing he refused to be aware of. After a moment of stillness, Sesshomaru reached out and lazily picked up the leaf between thumb and forefinger by the very tip of the stem. Though he hated to admit it, the color scheme of the leaf truly did fascinate him. It was big – nearly the size of his palm, and upon closer inspection, the demon could see just how many different colors were infused into it to make up the orange he had seen from a distance. Greens, reds, yellows, and even a subtle brown fringed the tips of the plant and seemed to meld together to create a fierce shade almost like fire in the center. Upraised lines puckered against his fingertips and tampered off, reminding him distinctly of veins.

Slowly, and with intense concentration, the demon lord tore the leaf along those lines, making four distinct parts. He shuffled two of them into the other palm and simply stared at them for a minute. After a while, Sesshomaru found himself feeling remorse that the leaf was now separated into those different sections and wished that there was away to put them back together. But he understood that once you broke something apart that way, no matter how cleanly it was broken, there was simply no way to put it back together.

He raised his palms slightly and let the wind blow the pieces of leaf out of his hands, watching as each part went a different direction.

While troublesome, the demon lord also had to admit that being out in his garden was quite peaceful and he was greatly impressed with nature's abilities. It could offer him something that wasn't easy to come by, and that was peace. The miko was much the same, but there was a distinct difference in the type of peace. Kagome offered peace but also entertainment. And as afore mentioned, he was still required to be a bit on his guard with her because of her unfortunate choice of companions. In his gardens, he could simply be. On his own land he really didn't have to worry about any sort of threats (not that anyone really dares to threaten him anyway). Overall, it really was….tranquil.

But a sound shattered his serene environment. Sesshomaru paused and stood straighter, ears perked. Though the noise he had heard was extremely faint, he felt confident that it was significant to him, and that it would come again. Sure enough, a moment later he heard it again, but this time, he registered what it was he was hearing.

Without even realizing what he was doing, he cocked his head towards the sound, mentally calculating where it was coming from.

"Jaken," he called, sounding bored and generally unaffected as always. Seconds later, his tiny assistant appeared.

"Yes, milord?"

Sesshomaru turned in the direction the sound was coming from, the direction of his brother's camp. "Prepare one of the rooms in the East wing." He commanded simply.

"Milord?" Jaken questioned, confused. He didn't know that anyone was supposed to be coming to stay with them. As a matter of fact….no one ever came and stayed with them.

Sesshomaru, annoyed because he was sure he had given a direct order and had mentally dismissed is worthless worm of his assistant, turned back, his expression cool. For a moment, he simply eyed Jaken, making the small being squirm under the scrutiny. Feeling as though his message had become clear, the demon lord turned back, beginning to walk. Then, as an afterthought, just as he disappeared, he said, sounding almost just as shocked at his decision as Jaken was, "It seems as though we are going to have a guest."

* * *

Sesshomaru simply did not stop to think. He was single minded in his purpose, and his feet seemed to move of their own accord to the place that he knew he would come to sooner or later anyway. It slightly surprised and upset him that a decision had been made without his full awareness of it, but the fact was that it was just what he was going to do and that was the end of it. He rarely ever made split second decisions, for he was a very thoughtful person and prefer to think through every second of everyday before acting on anything, but when he did make one like he had just done, it was always for the best anyway.

As the demon lord grew nearer and nearer to the camp, sounds he had dimly heard in his garden became much more prominent. Sounds of a serious battle. It seemed as though a jewel shard had come to them, instead of them having to come to it. But the demon it had been transformed by was extremely unwilling to relinquish what he had.

Suddenly a terror filled shriek ran through the entire forest and sent a series of shivers down the dog demon's spine. Whoever that was sounded like they were in terrible danger, and Sesshomaru recognized the voice behind that scream.

Trees flashed in front of his vision, but he was blind to everything except for his destination. He darted from branch to branch, gliding across the entire forest in half the time it would normally take him, mindless in his journey. The scene he finally stumbled upon was much worse than he had imagined.

Inuyasha stood vainly battling countless crow demons, Miroku and Sango were back to back with him, fighting them off as best they could. Blood and crow demons littered what should have been a beautiful field, blackening it by the violence of death and battle. What they didn't see and what Sesshomaru realized immediately was that the crow demons were nothing but a distraction. None of them were even the target of this attack. Kagome, poor Kagome, was in the hands of what appeared to be some sort of ogre. Her bow and arrows lay useless beneath where she must've been scooped up. She herself was trapped in the grip of the demon, suspended in the air some one hundred feet, and was being slowly and torturously crushed.

Once again without a second of thought, Sesshomaru confronted the demon. "You will release what is mine." He said simply. His mounting anger was completely veiled; the only exception was his slowly reddening eyes. His youkai was beginning to take over and he had no intentions of stopping it.

The gruesome creature laughed a rough guttural sound that only fueled the anger that was already boiling inside him. "Yours?" it questioned almost comically, and then it laughed again.

"Very well, "Sesshomaru said, his claws beginning to drip with venom. "You will die." And he swiftly jumped up to the monster's level. Before the demon lord even got a chance to strike, it promptly dissipated into thousands of crow demons, dropping Kagome and frantically flying away. The demon lord managed to kill a few before returning to the ground. Inuyasha was already there, leaned over Kagome; as were Sango and Miroku.

"Kami," Sango breathed, extending one hand toward the girl.

"Oh, Lady Kagome," Miroku's voice was heavy with remorse and dismay. Inuyasha was completely silent as though unable to speak. Instead he sat there, a stunned look on his face, staring at Kagome's broken and bleeding body with horror and a deep, soul-wrenching grief. Little Shippo was burying his face into Kagome's black hair, crying and calling desperately for the girl he knew wouldn't answer.

As Sesshomaru got closer, it became apparent that the girl was dead. Her eyes, open, were glazed over and staring at the vast nothingness that surrounded her. Random parts of her body pointed in odd, grotesque directions.

"You incompetent little whelp." The demon lord spat at his foolish brother. Inuyasha's eyes shifted slowly from Kagome to him as though coming back to reality. "How can you be of even the smallest portion of my blood, yet you are unable to keep one girl alive?"

Though in a state of shock, all of the people kneeling on the ground looked at Sesshomaru, shocked by his behavior. He was oblivious to their stares. The anger and overall disgust with his brother was simply all he could focus on at the moment.

"You are worthless and pathetic and Inuyasha, I swear to you, if the miko cannot live than neither will you."

Now he had everyone's full attention. Sango grabbed Shippo and coaxed his resistant body away from Kagome, and Inuyasha backed away with Miroku, anxious eyes watching for any signs of life.

Sesshomaru waited a moment before his sword came to life. Slowly he withdrew the Tensuiga and, after spotting the ones that had come to take the miko's soul away, prepared to swing. To everyone else, it appeared that he was simply swiping at nothing, but his sword made a graceful arch over the miko's body and soon, her chest rose and fell with a breath. Her eyes closed and she looked like she was sleeping.

Everyone except Sesshomaru let out a breath, gasp, or squeal of relief. At least until the demon lord lifted her from the ground with clear intentions to leave with her.

"Hey!" Shippo protested, "Where are you taking my mommy?"

Miroku and Sango stood tall, ready to fight, "You may not have her."

"Give her to me, Sesshomaru. She's not going anywhere with you." Said Inuyasha. Sesshomaru could truly care less about the opinions of any of the people standing in front of him, but he decided to respond to his worthless brother. He turned towards the half breed, his expression almost bored.

"You are clearly incapable of keeping the girl safe." His tone was strangely calm and reasonable, but no one cared to understand where he was coming from. "I simply think it best that I take that job upon myself." And before anyone had time to react, he had disappeared into the trees, Kagome helpless in his embrace.

As he flew through the trees, he reflected on the events that had just transpired. Before spending so much time with the unusually pretty human female, he would never have even considered going to help. As a matter of fact, her death would have been quite a relief to him. But now he had an actual use for her. Now she had a true purpose in his life. And while he could acknowledge that part of that purpose was, of course, to lead him to his brother's sword, he had to admit to himself that it was clear that there was more to her than that, at least when it came to him. He was simply unsure of what it was, which aggravated him to no end. Unfortunately with her the way she was now, there would be no way for him to find out, so he sped toward his palace dwelling on what he wanted to do with her, the warmth of her in his arms and a conflict in his heart.

* * *

I know it has been a terribly long time since I've written anything and I'm soooo sorry about that! I just hope none of you have given up on me. I promise to be much more dilegent about keeping up with my stories and I promise it won't be another three years before I post another chapter! Please read and review, and in your comments let me know if I'm deviating too much from how I was writing before, because I was afraid that might happen. Thank youuu!


	9. Chapter 9

Warmth. That was all she could feel around her. Warmth that cushioned and enveloped her. Kagome awoke, stretching luxuriously, hearing the rustle of blankets on her legs as they moved. The raven-haired girl smiled in her half-asleep state and spread her fingers out on the pillow beneath her head. She rolled over and yawned, feeling rays of heat from the sun on her face. Only then did it hit her. Why wasn't she on the ground? Why wasn't someone yelling at her for food or something?

Kagome cautiously opened one eye a crack, dreading what she was going to see. Sure enough, the first thing she noticed was impressive grey walls. Groaning, she shut her eye and rolled back over, trying to convince herself that she was dreaming. And soon enough, she had drifted into sleep.

_"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled. All was chaos around her—crow demons were attacking her friends and she was left alone in the face of a gigantic, gruesome thing. She heard her name again and ignored it, focusing instead on aiming and shooting an arrow at the beast. It dodged her arrow with one simple sidestep and laughed, enjoying toying with her. Just then she realized that this battle was going to be much harder than she had originally anticipated. In desperation, she glanced over her shoulder to see if she could get any help. Over the screech of crow demons and the gory remains of the few that had fallen, Kagome saw that everyone was fighting so there was no way she could call out and distract them. With a gulp, she came to the conclusion that this one was going to be completely up to her._

_ She ran to the left and shot another arrow that just barely grazed its arm. The monster roared in anger, clutching the burning wound between huge meaty fingers. Then, all amusement vanished from its eyes, replaced by pure malice. Kagome began to back away with fear and as though in a trance, it came towards her, its huge steps equaling five of her own stumbling footfalls._

_ "Inuyasha," she called desperately. At hearing a sound from her, the monster seemed to awaken. Instead of slowly shuffling towards her, it began to lurch in her direction. "Inuyasha!" she screamed as she turned to run. Before she could get far, the thing lunged and scooped her clear off her feet in a death grip. She screamed so loud and high pitched that he demon squeezed her until she could only gasp painfully. Then it laughed maniacally and began closing its hand around her with more and more force. Kagome was dimly aware of a sickening snap and realized that her arm had just broken. Though she wanted to scream with anguish, she could only manage pain filled whimpers. At least until a succession of cracking and breaking rendered her completely speechless. She was in so much pain that she couldn't even distinguish where any one ache was coming from. Spots appeared in front of her eyes and her head fell limp._

_ From somewhere deep in her subconscious, a sensation made her tingle all over. Over the sound of crow demons and the grunts of battle, her world had minimized to one single point somewhere ahead of her. He was here. She could feel him. And then she heard his voice. Soft and bland as always, one wouldn't have noticed any difference if they hadn't spent as much time with him as she had. But she could hear the fury behind his simple words, how absolutely enraged he was. _

_ Her heart which was already beating frantically sped up even more and she attempted to open her eyes and move her body even though it was very clearly useless at that point. Before had a chance, the abomination that held her in its crushing grip seemed to remember that she was there and completely closed its hand on her. She sunk into blessed darkness, his name on her lips._

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

Kagome awoke crying out. Her eyes fluttered open and she gasped for breath. She was supposed to be _dead_. There was no way she would've been able to survive that, miko powers or not. As a test, she lifted her am and moved it around, a scream bottled in the back of her throat. It was fine. She was perfectly fine.

There was only one way she was alive right then, and that had to mean she was in his palace.

But he would never waste his time on her! Sure, they had been spending some time together, but it was the Demon Lord of the West that they were talking about. He never let anything get to him. He never made it personal. More likely than not, it was a relief to him that she was dead. Or would have been dead.

Maybe she really was dead. Maybe this was heaven or hell or the afterworld, whatever that may be. Kagome looked around and saw at once how beautiful the bed she laid on was. It had to be silk. She ran her hands across the spread over her reverently.

_Maybe this wasn't so bad after all,_ she thought to herself. The room was gigantic. It was pretty close to perfection.

But not five seconds later, she realized that she was very much alive. The heavy door swung open soundlessly and none other than the great Lord Sesshomaru himself walked in.

So he _had_ brought her back to life. Kagome fought back a gasp of shock as that sunk in.

"Miko," he said, calmly approaching her, "glad to see that you are awake."

For a moment, she simply stared at him. His expression didn't change. It was the same old Lord Sesshomaru as ever—bland look on his face, no emotion in his eyes or words, the epitome of perfection. But in that moment, as she stared at him, everything became different.

"Sesshomaru," she was incredulous; completely in shock, "I…_died_."

The demon lord stood a step or two away from her, "Indeed you did. But you are not dead now."

She peered at him, confusion still the most prominent expression in her face. "You…" she couldn't even find the strength to voice it, but he knew exactly what she saw saying.

"Of course I did, miko." He replied to her unspoken question. She seemed to be doing a lot of staring. The demon lord didn't understand why she couldn't believe that he'd brought her back to life. It was the only thing he could do, along with taking her back to his home where she could be properly cared for.

Did she think he would have just left her there? Her death would in no way benefit him. Of course he would bring her back to life. She still hadn't fulfilled her purpose in his life.

Kagome still couldn't believe it. "But…why? Why waste your time?"

Sesshomaru started to speak, but had to stop speculatively. What should he say? He couldn't very well tell her the true reason; that he needed her alive to get him the Tetsuiga. But how else could he explain his actions? How else could he find a way to make her understand his unusually keen senses when it came to her? That out of all the sounds in his realm, he managed to pick out her screams of agony. And how he dropped everything that he was doing and recklessly rushed to her aid because those screams pulled at a part of him that he didn't even know existed.

"Well," he started again. Kagome noted, a bit incredulously that he sounded almost hesitant. "I couldn't very well leave you dead."

The raven-haired girl's brow furrowed. She knew she should leave it alone. Just accept the charity and move on living the life that he had just granted her. But some part of her wouldn't let it go. She had to know –_had_ to understand. "Why not?"

Annoyance flickered in his expression. Why did the girl insist on asking question that he couldn't answer? "Because then you would be dead," he stated drolly. And then, in his typical lightly sarcastic tone he added, "And that would simply _ruin_ my afternoons."

Kagome laughed, her eyes crinkling as her smile transformed a face he had previously seen bloodied and broken. For a little while, he had wondered if the light-hearted girl had died with her and even though he brought her back to life, she would always be this serious person he was confronted with. It was a relief to see her smiling, even though she sobered quickly.

Suddenly, all traces of the previous humor left her face and she gazed at him intently. Resisting the urge to fidget under her scrutiny he simply lifted one eyebrow slowly in a silent question.

"I knew you were there." She said softly, wonder in her voice. "I don't know how I knew it, but just before I… I felt your presence."

Sesshomaru blinked in surprise and she looked down, embarrassment coloring her face. Why had she just said that? Of all things to tell him, why did that come slipping from her lips? Now he probably thought she was creepy and weird and stalkerish—if he even knew what that meant. Now he would probably kick her out. Kagome shut her eyes, waiting for him to tell her to leave.

To her surprise, she felt the bed sink down on the other side and her eyes popped open in shock. She rolled over to see the demon lord sitting calmly, looking down at her.

"That's not strange at all." He finally said, as though he had been reading her mind. She didn't say anything. At the moment, all she was thinking about was the fact that he was practically in the bed with her….and her hair must look terrible.

"Huh?"

Sesshomaru turned to look out the window, "In fact," he continued, "it was much the same for me."

Once again, the girl was speechless. Was he saying that he could understand what she meant? That she wasn't a weird, obsessed stalker?

"Really?" she asked. He looked at her again and then nodded slowly.

"Yes, miko. You see, I was here when I was first alerted to your duress. Instinctively, I knew it was you that needed help."

Kagome snorted, "I'm _always_ the one who needs help."

The demon lord smirked, "Yes, because you do the most work."

She thought about it for a moment and then smiled comically. "You're probably right." But then she looked away from him and sighed. "I just can't believe I _died_ this time." There had been more than one instance when she had nearly kicked the bucket before, but she never thought it would actually happen. In a strange way, it was like Kagome thought she was invincible. Many times she had flirted with death, but even then the seriousness of it didn't register in her mind.

And what about Sesshomaru? He had found her, probably brutally slaughtered the thing that had killed her, brought her back to life, and then took her home with him. Or maybe he had brought her here and _then_ brought her back to life. She wasn't really sure about the particulars of that process, but all that mattered was that she was there, alive, completely fine. And under the great Lord Sesshomaru's care.

Oh boy.

"Well," Sesshomaru began speaking again, "it certainly wasn't your fault."

Kagome looked back at him silently for a minute, then propped herself up with an elbow. "How is it not my fault? I was stupid. I was fighting alone and I paid the price for it."

The demon lord shook his head. "Your friends should have been there to protect you. You are, after all, the most important member of the group." She opened her mouth to argue, but before she could get a chance he continued to speak, acting like he hadn't even seen her, "But I assessed that the entire attack was a ploy to get you alone from the beginning. Whoever initiated the attack was trying to kill you."

Kagome chuckled, "I guess they didn't factor you in."

The demon lord peered at her face for a long moment before standing gracefully. What was he doing so close to her anyway? "Yes, well, it is a mistake that they, whoever it is, probably plan to rectify. But as long as you are with me, you are in no danger."

She smiled. There was a time when Sesshomaru meant nothing but danger. And not just danger; grave, heart in throat fear inducing danger. It seemed like so long ago now. He began walking towards her side of the bed, probably to leave. Kagome followed his measured steps with her eyes, surprised by the small sting of regret she felt.

If someone had told her that she would end up living with Sesshomaru, the greatly renowned and greatly feared demon lord of the Western Realm, she probably would have laughed in their face. And then killed them on the spot for their insanity. But here she was, in the nicest bed she had ever seen, watching the notorious dog demon himself.

The raven-haired girl groaned and dropped her head. "It was probably Naraku." She pulled back the covers and swung her legs around, grateful for the skirt and top she was still wearing. "I should warn Inuyasha and the others."

Sesshomaru stopped and turned from his spot at the door. "Ah, miko, I think it best you stayed in your bed." He advised lightly. Kagome waved him off.

"Nonsense. I can walk." She stood and made her way to the door where the demon lord stood still trying to persuade her to stay in the bed.

"Miko, you should rest—" before he could finish, the girl's knees gave out and with slight gasp, she began to fall. Mentally admonishing her for her stubbornness, he darted forward and caught her just as her eyelids fluttered. Her breathing was shallow and her head lolled against his arm. He lifted her easily into his arms, tucking her into his chest and allowing her head to rest against his shoulder.

"Dizzy," she murmured. Her tongue slipped out to wet suddenly dry lips. "So dizzy."

The demon lord sighed, "When will you learn to listen to me?" he muttered. Though the comment was directed at her, he said it more for himself since he knew she wasn't listening anyway. He walked her over to the bed, but before he could lay her down she slid her arms around his neck. Obviously, she didn't want to be released and even though he could easily break free of her hold, he chose to refrain, trying to think of what to do instead. Before he could decide on anything, he was surprised by the smell of salt permeating the air. Sesshomaru looked back at her face and was startled to see tears rolling down her cheeks. For a minute; actually, for the first time in his life, he was frozen. What was he supposed to do now? She wasn't talking. In fact, he wasn't even sure if she was conscious.

"I was…all alone," she whispered suddenly, catching him off guard. "I asked for help. I called them all but none of them came. No one but you."

She lapsed into silence, her head lolling back. The demon lord gently cradled the back of her head in one large palm, ignoring the way her silky black hair felt against his skin and how small and fragile she looked. He gathered that the severity of what had happened was just now hitting her. Maybe it was because of the helplessness she felt from almost fainting. Maybe it reminded her of when she was in the beast's hand.

Suddenly, Sesshomaru wondered things. Did she even remember what had happened? In his experience, he knew of people who had lost all recollection of the events leading up to their death. Was that the case with her, or would she relive the horrors of that day for the rest of her life? Did she feel any pain? Had she truly sensed his presence as she said? If so, how? And why? And why did he sense her as well?

Realizing that his thoughts were straying into territory they had no business going to, he mentally shook his head. Those things were not of his concern. He shouldn't care so much. It served him no purpose, and it was the greatest sign of weakness that he had ever experienced. Caring was what got people killed.

He turned her in his arms and placed her on the bed, leaning over because of her iron grip around his neck. When she suddenly spoke again, he almost had to strain to hear her. "When I needed you, you were there." The demon lord frowned at that assumption. He didn't like the way it sounded, or what she was implying. He stifled a sigh of frustration at the position she placed him in, wondering to himself for the millionth time how he had ended up this way.

She remained silent, and he reached up to untangle himself from her embrace. The second his hands slid up her arms, she tensed.

"Stay." She whispered. He barely concealed a small sound of shock. She wanted him to remain in the room with her? She actually wanted him there? She couldn't be serious.

"Miko…" he trailed. He personally didn't think it was the best idea for him to stay there with her. The attachment she had developed with him was already too strong; he didn't want to further encourage it even if it would work to his advantage later.

She wasn't having it. "Stay," she repeated. "Please. I can't stand to be alone again." Her breath caught and he felt her go completely slack. Figuring that she had truly lost consciousness this time, Sesshomaru took a deep breath before gently removing her arms from around his neck. This had nothing to do with him. She only wanted him to stay because he was the one that had saved her. She was simply afraid to be alone, which was a completely rational fear considering her previous situation.

Still, that was none of his concern. He couldn't very well stay. Sure, she wanted him to and it would once again work to his advantage in the long run, but that was simply too much. He just couldn't do it.

Sesshomaru covered her with the blankets and without looking at her again he made his way to the door. He couldn't let this get too complicated. This was for the best. He didn't have the time to spend with her anyway; he had much more important things to attend to. He was the demon lord of the West, after all. He had many matters to attend to. Many things that too precedent to some silly miko who was afraid of nightmares.

With that thought in mind, he steeled his jaw and reached for the doorknob, fully intending to walk out of there without looking back. Before he could, however, she made a sound in her sleep. He paused and turned around, his eyes on her face. She was still unconscious, but she looked distressed. She had already curled herself into a fetal position, her hands tucked in little fists under her chin and her brow furrowed. She made another sound and the demon lord blinked. He realized that she was dreaming, probably about her death.

For a moment, he wavered, but then his common sense intervened and his face became as passive as ever. It was no concern of his, he decided as he turned away and opened the door. But she whimpered softly, sounding scared and in pain at the same time. The demon lord stayed where he was for a moment before sighing and coming back into the room. The door eased its way shut behind him and he cursed the girl for her vulnerability and its effect on him. He walked over to her bed and sat on the floor beside her, his legs crossed gracefully.

She wasn't aware that he was there and made another sound. He looked at her, then uncertainly reached out and brushed his fingers against her cheek. Her skin as very soft and there were still traces of the tears she had shed earlier. Almost immediately, she quieted down, her brows smoothing out and her hands unclenching. In no time, she was breathing normally and calmly.

Sesshomaru settled himself down and watched the rise and fall of her chest as she slept, all traces of trouble erased.

Even in unconsciousness, Kagome knew exactly who it was that had given her new life.

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When she woke up again later that day, Kagome was completely in favor of death. She had just made a complete and utter fool of herself, crying and blubbering about completely stupid stuff and begging Sesshomaru to stay with her. She could barely even remember what happened, but she got enough to want to fade into the wall. She wouldn't even open her eyes and roll over because she was afraid he had actually listened to her and stayed. There was no way she could face him now.

What was so strange to her was that she hadn't been feeling any of the things she said to him before she tried to get up. The stuff about not wanting to be alone…and needing him…as a matter of fact, she hadn't been feeling anything. All she was thinking about was the fact that she died, Sesshomaru brought her back to life, and now she was in his castle.

Forgetting that he might still be in the room, Kagome rolled over and opened her eyes. Then, she quickly froze and squeezed her eyes shut again. Because he had definitely listened to her, and he was there.

After a couple of seconds without any sound, Kagome peered through one eye. Only then did she see that he _was_ there, but he was asleep, sitting on the floor, leaning against her bed.

Kagome was startled. She didn't even know that he slept. Now, she realized how completely dumb that was, but he never seemed like the type who would relax for even one second. She thought that no matter what time it was, he was always doing something. But every living thing needed rest at some point, even the stronger, more superior ones.

Unknown to Kagome, her expression softened greatly. Sesshomaru looked so…_sweet_. And vulnerable. She'd never seen him look so peaceful. He almost looked just like a normal guy, minus the unreal beauty, long white hair, and of course the crescent moon. Kagome didn't think many people from her time would get a tattoo like that—not even to mention dying their hair white.

Staring at him so intently, Kagome was once again struck by just how handsome he really was. She'd been around quite a few guys in her time, even if they hadn't necessarily noticed her, but none of them in any way could compare. He was so majestic and had such an air of superiority. Of course he was insanely good looking, but his attitude and confidence was what made him beautiful in her eyes. Sesshomaru's level of mental stability was incredibly hard to come by in her time and Kagome admired him for it. She wished she could be like that. Maybe a lot of her problems would be over and done with if she could stay above everything like he did. Nothing ever seemed to faze him.

The miko was awake and looking—no, _staring_—at him. Normally, things like that would mean nothing to him but for some reason it was really bothering him. He didn't know why, but it was probably because of the way he could feel her eyes burning into him. He was sorely tempted to open his eyes, but Sesshomaru knew that she would be awkward and embarrassed and then she wouldn't talk to him. That would be annoying and extremely boring. So he just laid there like the dead and let her stare at him. He could feel the shifts in her emotions and he was surprised to feel shock and admiration amongst others.

Sesshomaru hadn't even meant to still be there when she awoke. He'd fallen asleep by accident. The atmosphere of the room had simply been so relaxing that he dozed without realizing it.

After the girl had finally gone to sleep peacefully, he'd had a hard time leaving. He had just sat there, watching her for any signs of distress. Maybe it was because he didn't want to leave and then have her throwing herself out of a window or something. The miko could be very spontaneous and though she had the potential to be a very wise girl, he wouldn't put it past her. Sesshomaru just didn't want to wake up in the morning and have to go to all the trouble of bringing her back to life again.

So even after she was calm and sleeping, he stayed with her. The first real sleep she would get was going to be hard on her. He knew that. He just didn't want her doing anything stupid.

Like he said, falling asleep had been completely unplanned. He probably needed it; even demon lords grew tired. But he would have preferred to be in his own room. Where there was no one to stare at him. What was the big deal anyway? She had seen him plenty of times before.

Sesshomaru was willing to bet that she thought he never slept, that he just kept going every day. He wished he could do that. It would make everything he always had to do so much easier. But when it came down to it that was where he had to admit a weakness.

At least he wasn't as bad as the girl. Everything seemed to be a crippling weakness for her. If it was 'cute' or defenseless, it was a weakness to her. Something like that tended to irritate him to no end, but e figured it was just her way. He didn't have her there to change personality. Sesshomaru didn't think he'd like the person she would become if she was like that. If she was like him.

Why was he even wasting his thoughts on her? She didn't matter to him. All she was good for was that Tetsuiga. He still had yet to get that sword away from the infernal pup. Sesshomaru was beginning to wonder if she was really as naive as she seemed. Maybe she was on to him.

Kagome figured that he must care about her. Why else would he bother to resurrect her? She wasn't good for anything else; she was barely in control of the powers she had. He had no other reason to even attempt bringing her back.

Just thinking about it made her heart beat stagger. Not to mention the fact that she was still staring pretty hard at him. Sesshomaru? Care? About _her_? Kagome never thought that a bunch of meaningless words could sound so absolutely beautiful when strong together like that. She grinned to herself, feeling a glow beginning to overtake her. But just as soon as she thought it, she brushed it away. What the hell was she thinking? Kagome felt like she had ad this argument with herself before. For the final time, she firmly told herself that Sesshomaru didn't care about anyone or anything and especially not a stupid, worthless girl like her.

The raven-haired girl was so distracted by her thoughts that it didn't quite register in her mind when Sesshomaru moved a bit. When she looked back at him, his eyes slowly opened and she found herself sinking hopelessly into the amber depths.

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**Hey guys! I'm so sorry that I've gone so long without updating again. I know I need to be more diligent and I'm really going to try, but the truth is that I'm working on a lot of things right now including my college education And I haven't worked on this one in a while so I need to get reacquainted with it and figure out where I want it to go. Still, thanks for reading, please please please pleaseeee review, and I'll talk to you all later!**


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